Harry Potter and the Last Adventure
by amadorwd
Summary: AU fiction. Voldemort won the Battle of Hogwarts, and most everyone died or was captured except Harry. Harry flees to France to seek help, and is sent to the International Ministry of Magic. He sets out with Gabrielle, with whom he has veela bonded, to search for Merlin after the IMM is attacked. Whole bunch of plot. Rated M for violence. Work in progress.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I would be much richer than I am now, and would probably buy this site instead of publish on it.

A/N: To elaborate, Voldemort won the Battle of Hogwarts when Harry didn't give himself up. Voldemort basically killed or captured everyone in Hogwarts, which was basically all of the good guys except, well, Harry.

Oh, and please know that Voldemort can no longer see into Harry's mind. The science-y stuff is that, as the number of remaining Horcruxes fell, and more of Voldemort's soul was destroyed, the weaker his connection to the last soul fragments grew.

This is my first fic, enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review. Your feedback means the most to me.

Chapter 1

Tottenham Court Road, London, UK. 2:30 AM.

A sharp crack disturbed the air on the otherwise quiet street. Harry shuddered, and sat on a nearby bench. The cold wind in London was enough to do a little more than chill him. He wandered along the street, still in his robes, wondering just what he was going to do. He had expected to be more traumatized by the intense battle in which he had been immersed in not more than a minute ago. Voldemort was going to win. Harry had cut the Dark Lord's work out for him. As Voldemort and the Death Eaters had begun breaking into into the Room of Requirement in which he, Ron, and Hermione had been tending to the wounded, Harry knew it was over. Hermione said, frankly, "Leave now. You're the only one who can beat him, and I know he won't kill us. He needs us for leverage." The crowd murmured in agreement, and ushered Harry over to the painting of Ariana Dumbledore. Hermione told her, "Take him to Hogsmeade, and see that he disapparates." Ariana nodded sagely, and the portrait swung away from the wall. Harry shared a brief hug with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, then left the building. As the door swung closed behind him, he heard a tremendous explosion as the doors of the Room of Requirement were blasted open. He ran faster, as he heard Voldemort laughing, saying, "It seems your hero has abandoned you." That voice echoed through his head, but he knew that Hermione knew what she was doing. As he reached the Hog's Head, he stepped from the painting, which swung closed silently, and promptly disapparated, to where he was now.

He was lost. All of his living friends, his contacts in the magical world, all of them had been in that room. And he had just left them at the mercy of the Dark Lord. But he knew Hermione was right. He wouldn't kill them, because he needed Harry, and he knew that Harry would have no reason to come back if his friends were dead. But, Harry was stuck. He had nowhere to go. Sure, he could disapparate to somewhere remote. I mean, he could go practically anywhere, now that Voldemort could no longer see into his mind, he had to manually search for Harry. Voldemort was a patient person, and he knew that, eventually, Harry would come back. And, he was right. But, again the question returned: from where would he come back? He couldn't just go somewhere alone, he needed food, and he needed to better his magic. But he had nowhere to go to!

He thought about all that he had gone through, saving the school from Professor Quirrel, killing a basilisk, saving his godfather, winning a wizarding tournament – "Wait!" He thought. He realized that he had a few magical contacts remaining, the contestants of the Triwizard Tournament. Hell, he had their entire schools to help him. Surely they would pledge allegiance to him, The Boy Who Lived! He had a choice, either Beauxbatons, or Durmstrang. He instantly chose Beauxbatons, seeing as, well, they were all girls, and that he didn't much care for interaction with the cold, militaristic Scandinavians. Hell, he had no clue where Durmstrang was! But, he had learned from Gabrielle and Fleur at Bill and Fleur's wedding that their school was high in the Pyrenees, the mountains that form part of the border between France and Spain.

He realized that he could, however, take the Floo network to Beauxbatons. But, he noted, pulling out Draco's wand, "This flimsy wand won't last me much longer." He Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, where the fireplace was blazing. He went up to the clerk, who looked old, tired, and grumpy, and rented a room. He got to his room, closed the door behind him, and promptly fell asleep on his bed.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's another chapter. Please don't forget to review, feedback is the best thing about writing fics.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, London. 6:00 am.

Harry awoke to the early morning light streaming in through the window onto his bed in the Leaky Cauldron. He yawned, then woke up, and left the room, thanking the clerk on his way out, and returning his key. He went through the brick wall out back to get to Diagon Alley, and made his way to Ollivander's. The old man was just arriving as Harry reached to door, and he was delighted to see Harry.

"Mr. Potter!" he exclaimed, "How nice to see you again! Do come in, and sit." He opened the door. "Would you like some tea?" Harry politely declined, and Ollivander sat across from him. "What brings you to my shop today, Mr. Potter?" Ollivander inquired.

Harry explained to Ollivander the events that had transpired, and his face had darkened considerably by the time he was done.

"Mr. Ollivander, I need a new wand," Harry said. "Draco's is no longer suitable, I think."

Ollivander got up immediately, and unlocked a cupboard full of wands. He took about twenty or so out, and brought them over to the couch Harry was seated on. He took one out, and gave it to Harry, who tried to cast a spell with it. Nothing happened. The other wands that Ollivander gave Harry to try reacted similarly.

Ollivander returned the wands to the cupboard, and said, "I've come to a conclusion. You have grown magically since I have last seen you. Usually, the wand grows with the wizard, but, seeing as yours was broken, you need another. Most of these wands here are for beginners, to grow with them as they themselves grow. Rarely does a mature wizard come here for a wand. Perhaps we should consider a custom-made wand. Come with me, dear boy." Harry followed Ollivander upstairs, to a room with a roaring fireplace, a worktable, a cauldron, and wall to wall shelves. On the shelves, in small phials, were ingredients, some solid, some liquid, some vapor. In another cupboard, Harry saw many different types of wood, no doubt for the construction of wands.

"This could, quite possibly, be the most expensive room in all of Diagon Alley, save a few vaults at Gringotts," Ollivander remarked, leading Harry over to the cupboard. "Pick a wood, and go with your instinct. You will make the right choice."

Harry was initially going to select the sample labeled "Holly," but he didn't feel that that was the right kind of wood for his new wand. He thought carefully, then examined the other woods in more depth. He held out his hand over the silver tray on which the woods were carefully arranged, and his hand drifted towards a light colored, elegant sample, labeled "Pine."

"That's quite interesting," Ollivander remarked. "Your choice of wood seems to have changed." As Ollivander reached into the cupboard, pulling out a block of pine wood, Harry replied, "I think it's because I am the last Horcrux." Ollivander looked up, as Harry remarked "As the last Horcrux, the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside of me wants to rejoin him, leaving my own soul separate." Ollivander nodded, saying, "The soul of a wizard would certainly have an effect on his wand choice."

Ollivander produced his own wand, a simple yet elegant baton of 11 inches, with detailed designs along its length. He handed the block of pine to Harry, and instructed him to hold it. Ollivander then cast a wordless spell on the block, whereupon the block Harry was holding began to burn with a cold, white fire. Harry felt no heat as the block burned, but he noticed, as the flames began to consume the wand, that a wand was taking shape in the middle of the fire. When the flame stopped burning, the wand fell into Harry's hand. Ollivander took it from his hand, carefully, and placed it on a specially designed rack on the workbench. With another brief incantation, he motioned for Harry to come to the table.

"Harry, my boy, you'll need to craft this wand yourself. You need to reach inside the wand, awaken its own magic, so that you can place the magical core into it." Harry picked up the wand, and attempted to cast a spell with it. Nothing happened.

"Don't try to cast your own magic through it. You must awaken the wand's magic." Ollivander commented.

Harry picked up the wand, and concentrated on the block of wood. He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing only on the wand. He opened his eyes to find the wand was glowing at the tip. Ollivander looked as if he was on the verge of crying, saying, "You're the first person in the last 50 years with the power to do that without my help."

"Who was the last?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore," Ollivander replied. "Now, what you must do is turn to this cupboard of ingredients. Point the wand at the cupboard, and point the tip at each ingredient. You will know when you have found the correct ingredient."

Harry did as he was asked, and searched patiently across each row of magical artifacts. But nothing seemed to happen.

"This wandmaking process is normally very time-consuming. However, your wand here in particular is becoming increasingly difficult to create." Ollivander sat down in his chair, seemingly lost in thought. Harry continued searching the shelves, but to no avail. Ollivander looked up at Harry, "Mr. Potter, there is one more ingredient available. It is incredibly rare for any wizard to possess the power to control it, however. Let us see if it is right for you." He produced a glass phial from his pocket. "I always keep it on me, because it is the most valuable thing I have ever owned." He uncorked the phial. "Here you are. Try this. One shard of metal from the wand of Merlin."

"One what? I thought that a wand had to be made from wood," Harry said. Ollivander replied, "Merlin's wand was the first wand ever. He made it out of the same metal as the sword of Gryffindor, the cup of Hufflepuff, the Diadem of Ravenclaw, and Slytherin's locket, because of its magical properties. He named it magemetal, due to it's high magical conductance."

Harry replied, incredulously, "Are you saying that Merlin made those?"

"Yes, of course! Do you think that just anything could destroy a basilisk, or withstand the extreme separation of a soul? Anything with a part of a soul that fragmented would have withered away as soon as it was filled. But not this metal. This metal is not of this world, or even of this dimension. It was from the world of Merlin. Merlin came here from another world, a traveler who happened upon the chaos of this world."

Harry brought his wand closer to the phial, and the wand glowed brightly, and the room was lit up with the pure white light. A shard of metal rose from the phial, and flew into the light emanating from the tip of Harry's wand. Harry looked at the phial, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa," and the phial promptly flew upwards. Ollivander was overcome with joy.

They made their way downstairs to the main office, where a few customers were looking at the wands. Ollivander asked, "Where are you going now?"

Harry replied, "Beauxbatons. I have to find another magical school to learn from. I need to improve before I can face Voldemort again. Oh, by the way, can I use your fireplace?"

Ollivander nodded, smiling. "Good to see you again, Mr. Potter."

Harry stepped over to the fireplace, and grabbed a pinch of Floo powder from the bowl in the lintel. He said, "Beauxbatons," and vanished in a flash of green fire.

Hogwarts, Northern Scotland

Voldemort and the Death Eaters had corralled the survivors into the Great Hall. The roaring fireplace of the Great Hall was the only source of light in the otherwise dark room, and the fighters of Hogwarts were silent. They were all bound, hand and feet, by dark chains. The sole sound in the Hall was the crackle of the fire, Voldemort's laughter, and the snapping of wands as Voldemort snapped the wand of every fighter of Hogwarts, and threw it into the fire.

A/N Oh, yes. I didn't want to make my writing any harder to read, so I omitted trying to phoneticize the French accent. You can imagine it.

Somewhere in the Floo Network, 6:00 PM

Harry was always uncomfortable when he took a Floo ride. It was always interesting, watching in green flame envelop himself, then the moving feeling accompanied with the journey through space. The flames began to move away, and he looked up to see not any French beauties, but a place, similar to a security checkpoint at an airport. There were some other travelers going through the lines as he scanned the room, looking for someone who could answer his questions. Without seeing anything, he moved to the line closest him, where he was stopped by a lady. " _Parlez-vous français_?" she asked. "Pardon?" he responded, "Where am I?"

"Oh," she said, with a definite French accent. "This a French Floo Checkpoint. The closest thing that you can compare us to is a Muggle checkpoint at an airport. May I see your wand, sir?"

He handed her his wand, and she used her own wand, tapping it against his. She said, "You haven't been in France before, Mr. Potter."

"Pardon, how do you know who I am?"

"Well, for one, you're the most recognizable person in the wizarding world, and your wand has your magical signature on it."

"Oh," he replied sheepishly.

The lady said, "Welcome to France, there are Floo fireplaces along the back wall over there."

Harry made his way through the checkpoint, past the stone-faced guards on the other side, and went over to a fireplace. He took a pinch of powder from the dispenser on the wall, and said, "Beauxbatons." He vanished in another puff of green fire.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Another chapter here. Read and review, but of course, enjoy.

I was having issues finding the Houses of Beauxbatons, so I used a "What Beauxbatons House Are You in?" quiz online. If you have the actual names of the houses, PM me or leave it in a review.

I know that JKR said that Beauxbatons was in rural France, but Pottermore suggests that it was located in the French Pyrenees.

Chapter 3

Beauxbatons, Pyrenees, France. 6:15 PM

Beauxbatons Academy was situated in the Pyrenees Mountains, built into the side of a mountain in the French side. The halls were always clean and well-lit, and everything was always maintained perfectly. When any group of girls did happen to go down a hall, they walked in perfect step, and in rank and file, led by a head girl. The Great Hall of Beauxbatons was built before the rest of the school, having been an ancient French wizard's court before its occupation by the academy. The mountain and the school were obscured from Muggles, so anyone that came within a kilometer radius of the mountain would see nothing but snowy slopes. Any Muggle mountain climber would be seen by wizards as floating in mid-air, while walking on a conjured slope of snow, which was always a hilarious sight for the students.

At any rate, it was the middle of winter, late in January, and the fireplaces of the Great Hall were blazing. Excited, girlish chatter filled the Great Hall as dinner was well underway. Suddenly, one of the fireplaces along the wall by the staff table flared green. The chatter stopped as Harry fell from the green fire in the fireplace. Madam Maxine, the headmistress of Beauxbatons, approached the fallen figure with her wand drawn. Many of the other instructors had their wands drawn as well, and it wasn't until Harry looked up at the towering giantess and they recognized him that the wands were sheathed. The silence was replaced by giggles as the girls in the room realized who had fallen out of the fireplace. Madam Maxine said "Hello, Harry." Harry replied, out of breath, "Hi. I tripped on the lintel over there and it knocked the wind out of me. I guess I should have specified which fireplace to come out of at Beauxbatons." The headmistress replied, "How did you even manage to Floo into here? We have wards to prevent that." Harry responded, "I don't know. I guess it must have sensed my emergency." "What do you mean?"

Harry said, softly, so as not to alarm any of the students, "Voldemort has taken Hogwarts." Madame Maxime gasped, and Harry continued, "He has the students captive." Madam Maxine replied, "This is terrible." Harry finished, "He also has control of the Ministry of Magic. I'm afraid that Britain is doomed." The Headmistress turned and said, "Monsieur Archambeaux, please find Monsieur Potter a room." An older man rose from the staff table and nodded. "And, Mr. Potter, see me in my office tonight at 8:30 PM. For now, follow him to your room, and then come back, find a seat, and have some food." Harry nodded, and walked with Archambeaux into the marble hallway. Archambeaux said, in a heavy French accent, "You will be staying in one of the guest rooms. They are by the Rouerie dormitories." They walked for a bit, and took a few turns, until they came to a row of ten or so wooden doors. Archambeaux handed Harry a key, indicating that the key was for the seventh guest room. Harry opened up the guest room, and looked inside. He found a bed, a desk with a lamp, a wardrobe, a private bathroom, and a window commanding a beautiful view of the Quidditch pitch. Archambeaux said, "Madam Maxime requests that you eat in the Great Hall." Harry nodded, and returned with Archambeaux to the Great Hall.

As he entered the Great Hall again, many of the girls turned to look at him as he passed. Beauxbatons was, as he remembered, an all-girl school. He looked left and right occasionally, looking for Gabrielle, the only person that he knew in the entire hall. As he approached the front of the Great Hall, he finally spotted her sitting at the end of her table, surrounded by her friends. He went over to her, and asked if he could sit. She replied, "Of course, Harry." Her friends made room for him on the bench across from her. He asked, "Where can I get food?" A well-dressed house elf appeared, and offered him a plate and goblet, which he took and set down in front of him. He noticed that he didn't, however, have any silverware, and he asked Gabrielle if she had an extra set.

She replied, "Of course, Vivienne couldn't make it to dinner, she is sick." She handed him a rolled-up napkin with silverware in it. As he reached out to grab it, their hands touched. The contact was like an electric shock to Gabrielle. She withdrew her hand quickly, and tried to suppress her shaking, but to no avail.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked. She replied "Yes, _merci_." Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed her reaction to his touch. She looked down at her hand, and blushed. Where they had made contact was glowing white on her hand. Harry looked down at his, and saw a similar mark where they had touched. Harry freaked out, and tried to rub it out, but Gabrielle just said, "Ask Madame Maxime about it." He cast a Disillusionment Charm over it to avoid questions, and Gabrielle did the same to her mark.

Gabrielle asked, "What did you say to Madam Maxime? I don't think I've ever seen her so distressed." Harry replied, quietly, "I'll tell you later, Gabrielle," eliciting giggles from her classmates.

Harry finished dinner rather slowly, mostly because he was being bombarded with questions from Gabrielle and her classmates, wanting to know how Hogwarts was, how his friends were doing. Harry had to hide his despair through lies to Gabrielle and her friends. Once dinner was wrapping up, the Beauxbatons students stoop up in unison, and marched in rank and file from the dormitory, separating into three groups as they reached the end of the Great Hall. Harry followed behind, slowly, and waved goodbye at Gabrielle before she vanished around a corner. Harry, however, had to go speak with the headmistress. He asked a teacher where her office was, and the teacher pointed him in the right direction. Harry set off at a brisk pace, admiring the elegance of the French Classical Architecture of the hallways. He finally reached the door, with a spiral staircase entrance similar to the entrance to Dumbledore's office, except in the place of the rotating eagle was a rotating Pegasus. The Pegasus rotating, moving its wing to allow him entrance. He ascended the spiral staircase, and, as he reached the landing, he saw a door identical to the door to Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts. He opened the door, and was greeted by a pristine office, similar to Dumbledore's, but without all of the machines and magical items constantly whirring about. No wonder Madame Maxime had been so critical of the state of Dumbledore's office.

She turned from the window to greet him. "Sit down, Mr. Potter. Tell me everything about what happened at Hogwarts."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Here is the fourth chapter.

Big note: In this AU, Voldemort never acquired the Elder Wand from Dumbledore. Big change, but isn't that what an alternate universe is for?

Read on, dear reader. Reviews mean the world to me, so please review!

Chapter 4

Headmistress' Office, Beauxbatons, Pyrenees, France 8:30 PM

Harry sat down on the daybed near the windowsill where Madame Maxime stood. He recounted everything, starting with his destruction of the Horcruxes, and ending with his friends asking him to leave for their sake.

After he had finished, Madame Maxime nodded, saying, "It would make sense that he would use your friends for leverage. Otherwise, he has no way to get to you at all." Harry continued, "And I came here because I need to better my magic in order to defeat Voldemort. If my friends asked me to leave, then they obviously thought I was no match for him and his forces." Maxime nodded again, and said, "We would be happy to help you."

Harry continued, "I mean, the way I see it, I can't do anything right now. I'm not strong enough to defeat Voldemort on my own, and I can't just gather a team of French Aurors and attack Hogwarts! He's got my friends in there, and an army of well-trained Death Eaters. I don't think that any attack on Hogwarts would succeed, especially now that he has the Elder Wand. I'm just not sure what to do." Madam Maxime replied, "I think that we can rest assured that something will be worked out. I'll have the French Minister of Magic here within the week, Mr. Potter."

In the awkward silence that followed, Maxime looked Harry up and down, and commented, "You look like you could use some rest. I'll have some clean robes for you to wear delivered to your room, but I'm afraid we only have Beauxbatons colors."

"That's alright," Harry replied. As he got up to leave, Madam Maxime asked him, "Why do you have a Disillusionment Charm on your hand?"

Harry replied, "Oh." He turned around to face the headmistress, removing the Charm from his hand. He held out the mark on his hand to her, and she gasped in amazement. "A veela mark!" she exclaimed. "Gabrielle, I presume?" Harry nodded. "I would like to see both of you tomorrow, please, and I'm sure her father, the Minister of Magic will have a fun time explaining that mark to you. Any time will do for meeting me tomorrow. Now, get off to bed, please." He left the room, recasting the Disillusionment Charm and descending the spiral staircase, leaving the pristine office to madam Maxime.

After reaching his guest quarters, he stood in the room for a while, and inspected what was left of his worldly belongings. He had laid everything that he had out on his bed. He had his Invisibility Cloak, his new wand, and that was mostly it. He put his things on the desk in his room, and noticed a set of clean Beauxbatons robes on his desk. He was thankful that there were at least some male teachers on the staff at Beauxbatons, or else he would have had to wear something else. He laid on his bed, and thought a bit.

He couldn't just straight-out attack Voldemort, any frontal attack would surely fail. Voldemort was growing in power the longer he remained undefeated. Eventually, the darkness inside of what was now Tom Riddle would corrupt his body entirely, and would turn Voldemort into a dark creature, devoid of human emotion and mercy. He had to strike before that happened.

As Harry's mind became increasingly muddled after a long day, he eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, he awoke to the muffled sounds of giggles and chattering as the Beauxbatons students made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The light streamed in through his window, and he saw that it was snowing outside. He changed into his blue Beauxbatons robes, the only clean clothes he had, and opened the door, almost hitting some young witches who had been too close, eliciting giggles from their whole group. He walked to the Great Hall, and looked for Gabrielle, who beckoned him to her table. He sat down next to Gabrielle. She commented, "I think you look a lot more handsome in those blue robes, Harry." Harry blushed, and the girls at the table giggled some more. He noticed, after checking the clock in the Great Hall, that it was 6:45 in the morning.

"Blimey, Gabby, you wake up this early here?" She laughed sweetly, and replied, "Of course. Do you not wake up at this time at Hogwarts?" He replied, "No, we usually get up at around 8:30." Gabrielle laughed again, exclaiming, "Paresseux Anglais!(A/N: Translation: "Lazy English")" to yet another round of giggling from the table. Damn, if Harry had remembered how much the Beauxbatons girls giggled, he probably would've chosen to seek help from Durmstrang or maybe from one of the American schools. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he thought, thinking in particular about the blonde veela sitting next to him.

At any rate, he was somewhat worried. He only knew one person at the school, and he had no clue what was – a sharp pain shot through his scar. He was confused, seeing as his connection with Voldemort should be weak, almost non-existent.

All of a sudden, he was in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts. He saw Voldemort sitting in the chair, screaming in agony. A black substance was growing on his arm, and that seemed to be the source of Voldemort's agony. Harry could feel the pain that Voldemort was enduring, as the unknown darkness began to corrupt the soul of what was now Tom Riddle.

And then, quick as it had come, the vision was gone. He awoke to find himself in what he assumed to be the Beauxbatons infirmary. He turned his head to look to the other side, and he saw Gabrielle, her back to him, talking to a man who he didn't recognize. The man saw Harry turn his head, and exclaimed, in French, "Enfin! Il reveille!," which Harry took to mean something along the lines of, "He's awake!"

Gabby turned and smiled at him, pointing first to the mark on her hand, and then to the man, saying, "I told him about the mark." Harry assumed that it was her father to whom she was gesturing. Monsieur Delacour exclaimed, "At last, you are awake." Harry asked, groggily, "How long was I out for?"

"About a half an hour," the nurse replied. Gabby continued, "You passed out in the Great Hall during breakfast. What happened?"

"My scar – I saw Voldemort in Hogwarts."

Madam Maxime entered the room, and asked, "What did you see?"

"Well, I saw Voldemort in the chair in Dumbledore's office, you see, and he was screaming as a black decay consumed his skin. I don't know what it was, though."

"Well, we should take you to the professor of Divination here. Perhaps she can tell you what this black decay is."

"Madam," the nurse interrupted, "Madam Dupont is on vacation, and she will return tomorrow."

"Well, Mr. Potter, it looks like you'll be staying for a little while longer. Besides, the Minister of Magic is here to see you," the headmistress said, indicating Gabby's father. I don't think you two will need to see me later, as we discussed last night. Good day." Maxime left the Infirmary.

Harry was surprised that he hadn't already found out that Gabby's father was the Minister of Magic, considering the time that Harry had spent conversing with him at Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Harry sat up on his bed, and Monsieur Delacour came over to shake his hand. Harry acknowledged his handshake, then sat back down, head spinning. Monsieur Delacour asked, "Do you know the significance of that mark on your hand?" Harry dispelled the Disillusionment Charm, and shook his head.

"Let me put it like this. Do you know what a veela is?"

Harry replied, "Yes, a kind of magical creature that forms bonds with humans."

"More specifically, do you know how powerful these bonds are?"

Harry shook his head again. "Well," Delacour continued, "The veela bond is incredibly powerful. Essentially, what happens is that the soul of the veela attaches itself to the soul of the bondmate, allowing for empathy links, and that kind of stuff."

"Are you saying Gabrielle bonded with me?" Harry asked.

"Well, yes, considering you both have the mark."

"So what does that mean?"

"Because the bonding only happened yesterday, not much for about another three days. In about three days, bondmates usually begin to feel the emotions of each other, and things like that. Two days after, the bondmates can communicate over the bond. I know from personal experience with Gabrielle's mom, my wife Apolline, that communication anywhere, anytime, is very useful."

Gabrielle reminded her dad, "Dad, you haven't told him about the death part."

"Oh, yes. Now, Mr. Potter, before you get too worried, it's not serious –"

"Dad!" Gabrielle interrupted, "It is serious." She turned to Harry, "If one of us dies, so does the other."

"Oh," Harry replied.

Gabrielle turned back to her dad, angrily, "And stop referring to it like a tool or a curse, Dad! The veela bond is an irreversible blessing that transforms the lives of the bonded forever!"

Monsieur Delacour smiled, and hugged her tightly, "You sound so much like your mother."

Gabrielle pushed him away. "Whatever."

"Anyway, Mr. Potter, when you feel better please come to the headmistress's office. We have much to discuss." He walked out of the Infirmary.

"About what?" Gabrielle inquired. "Me?"

"About Hogwarts. I came here because Voldemort has taken over all of Britain. He has my friends captive, he has Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic under his control. This was the last place I had contacts."

"Oh my God. Why didn't you me about this?"

"I didn't want to worry you, but since you asked, I couldn't lie. I told Maxime, and she asked your father to come here to discuss plans with me. I will likely end up before the International Ministry of Magic to discuss a plan of action. But, I passed out just now from the vision I told you guys about."

"My god. This is terrible."

"I know," said Harry. "Worst of all, I can't do anything on my own to help. I personally need to be stronger, and that's why I came to another school, to learn."

"Speaking of learning, Maxime told me to tell you that you can come to any of my classes, I'll help you translate from French."

"What time is it?"

"About 7:45. Classes start at 8."

"Well, we had better get going, then."

Harry sat up, and followed Gabrielle out the door.

As they were walking to the class, he asked, "Have you ever had a veela bond before?"

She replied, "No, Harry. You ask that like it's something you can have multiple times. A veela bond is a one-time thing, irreversible and powerful."

"Oh."

"Any other questions?"

"Yeah, what class do you have next?"

"Charms, with Professor Renaud."

When they arrived at the classroom, Harry wasn't in the least surprised to find that the class was as organized and clean as the rest of the school. A few students had already arrived, and the class appeared to seat about 30 or so. Gabby sat them down in the front, and introduced themselves to the Professor, who was portly and pompous.

Harry was bored for the duration of the class, as it seemed that curriculum was different at Beauxbatons, and they were so far ahead that Harry was lost. He only picked up a few things, just about making a custom spell, or how to use your wand to control air currents. Basic things, really, for Harry, but he had a lot on his mind. The bells of the school tolled to indicate the next period, and the girls (and Harry) walked out of the classroom.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N Here is the fourth chapter.

Read on, dear reader. Reviews mean the world to me, so please review!

Chapter 4

Headmistress' Office, Beauxbatons, Pyrenees, France 8:30 PM

Harry sat down on the daybed near the windowsill where Madame Maxime stood. He recounted everything, starting with his destruction of the Horcruxes, and ending with his friends asking him to leave for their sake.

After he had finished, Madame Maxime nodded, saying, "It would make sense that he would use your friends for leverage. Otherwise, he has no way to get to you at all." Harry continued, "And I came here because I need to better my magic in order to defeat Voldemort. If my friends asked me to leave, then they obviously thought I was no match for him and his forces." Maxime nodded again, and said, "We would be happy to help you."

Harry continued, "I mean, the way I see it, I can't do anything right now. I'm not strong enough to defeat Voldemort on my own, and I can't just gather a team of French Aurors and attack Hogwarts! He's got my friends in there, and an army of well-trained Death Eaters. I don't think that any attack on Hogwarts would succeed, especially now that he has the Elder Wand. I'm just not sure what to do." Madam Maxime replied, "I think that we can rest assured that something will be worked out. I'll have the French Minister of Magic here within the week, Mr. Potter."

In the awkward silence that followed, Maxime looked Harry up and down, and commented, "You look like you could use some rest. I'll have some clean robes for you to wear delivered to your room, but I'm afraid we only have Beauxbatons colors."

"That's alright," Harry replied. As he got up to leave, Madam Maxime asked him, "Why do you have a Disillusionment Charm on your hand?"

Harry replied, "Oh." He turned around to face the headmistress, removing the Charm from his hand. He held out the mark on his hand to her, and she gasped in amazement. "A veela mark!" she exclaimed. "Gabrielle, I presume?" Harry nodded. "I would like to see both of you tomorrow, please, and I'm sure her father, the Minister of Magic will have a fun time explaining that mark to you. Any time will do for meeting me tomorrow. Now, get off to bed, please." He left the room, recasting the Disillusionment Charm and descending the spiral staircase, leaving the pristine office to madam Maxime.

After reaching his guest quarters, he stood in the room for a while, and inspected what was left of his worldly belongings. He had laid everything that he had out on his bed. He had his Invisibility Cloak, his new wand, and that was mostly it. He put his things on the desk in his room, and noticed a set of clean Beauxbatons robes on his desk. He was thankful that there were at least some male teachers on the staff at Beauxbatons, or else he would have had to wear something else. He laid on his bed, and thought a bit.

He couldn't just straight-out attack Voldemort, any frontal attack would surely fail. Voldemort was growing in power the longer he remained undefeated. Eventually, the darkness inside of what was now Tom Riddle would corrupt his body entirely, and would turn Voldemort into a dark creature, devoid of human emotion and mercy. He had to strike before that happened.

As Harry's mind became increasingly muddled after a long day, he eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, he awoke to the muffled sounds of giggles and chattering as the Beauxbatons students made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The light streamed in through his window, and he saw that it was snowing outside. He changed into his blue Beauxbatons robes, the only clean clothes he had, and opened the door, almost hitting some young witches who had been too close, eliciting giggles from their whole group. He walked to the Great Hall, and looked for Gabrielle, who beckoned him to her table. He sat down next to Gabrielle. She commented, "I think you look a lot more handsome in those blue robes, Harry." Harry blushed, and the girls at the table giggled some more. He noticed, after checking the clock in the Great Hall, that it was 6:45 in the morning.

"Blimey, Gabby, you wake up this early here?" She laughed sweetly, and replied, "Of course. Do you not wake up at this time at Hogwarts?" He replied, "No, we usually get up at around 8:30." Gabrielle laughed again, exclaiming, "Paresseux Anglais!(A/N: Translation: "Lazy English")" to yet another round of giggling from the table. Damn, if Harry had remembered how much the Beauxbatons girls giggled, he probably would've chosen to seek help from Durmstrang or maybe from one of the American schools. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he thought, thinking in particular about the blonde veela sitting next to him.

At any rate, he was somewhat worried. He only knew one person at the school, and he had no clue what was – a sharp pain shot through his scar. He was confused, seeing as his connection with Voldemort should be weak, almost non-existent.

All of a sudden, he was in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts. He saw Voldemort sitting in the chair, screaming in agony. A black substance was growing on his arm, and that seemed to be the source of Voldemort's agony. Harry could feel the pain that Voldemort was enduring, as the unknown darkness began to corrupt the soul of what was once Tom Riddle.

And then, quick as it had come, the vision was gone. He awoke to find himself in what he assumed to be the Beauxbatons infirmary. He turned his head to look to the other side, and he saw Gabrielle, her back to him, talking to a man who he didn't recognize. The man saw Harry turn his head, and exclaimed, in French, "Enfin! Il reveille!," which Harry took to mean something along the lines of, "He's awake!"

Gabby turned and smiled at him, pointing first to the mark on her hand, and then to the man, saying, "I told him about the mark." Harry assumed that it was her father to whom she was gesturing. Monsieur Delacour exclaimed, "At last, you are awake." Harry asked, groggily, "How long was I out for?"

"About a half an hour," the nurse replied. Gabby continued, "You passed out in the Great Hall during breakfast. What happened?"

"My scar – I saw Voldemort in Hogwarts."

Madam Maxime entered the room, and asked, "What did you see?"

"Well, I saw Voldemort in the chair in Dumbledore's office, you see, and he was screaming as a black decay consumed his skin. I don't know what it was, though."

"Well, we should take you to the professor of Divination here. Perhaps she can tell you what this black decay is."

"Madam," the nurse interrupted, "Madam Dupont is on vacation, and she will return tomorrow."

"Well, Mr. Potter, it looks like you'll be staying for a little while longer. Besides, the Minister of Magic is here to see you," the headmistress said, indicating Gabby's father. I don't think you two will need to see me later, as we discussed last night. Good day." Maxime left the Infirmary.

Harry was surprised that he hadn't already found out that Gabby's father was the Minister of Magic, considering the time that Harry had spent conversing with him at Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Harry sat up on his bed, and Monsieur Delacour came over to shake his hand. Harry acknowledged his handshake, then sat back down, head spinning. Monsieur Delacour asked, "Do you know the significance of that mark on your hand?" Harry dispelled the Disillusionment Charm, and shook his head.

"Let me put it like this. Do you know what a veela is?"

Harry replied, "Yes, a kind of magical creature that forms bonds with humans."

"More specifically, do you know how powerful these bonds are?"

Harry shook his head again. "Well," Delacour continued, "The veela bond is incredibly powerful. Essentially, what happens is that the soul of the veela attaches itself to the soul of the bondmate, allowing for empathy links, and that kind of stuff."

"Are you saying Gabrielle bonded with me?" Harry asked.

"Well, yes, considering you both have the mark."

"So what does that mean?"

"Because the bonding only happened yesterday, not much for about another three days. In about three days, bondmates usually begin to feel the emotions of each other, and things like that. Two days after, the bondmates can communicate over the bond. I know from personal experience with Gabrielle's mom, my wife Apolline, that communication anywhere, anytime, is very useful."

Gabrielle reminded her dad, "Dad, you haven't told him about the death part."

"Oh, yes. Now, Mr. Potter, before you get too worried, it's not serious –"

"Dad!" Gabrielle interrupted, "It is serious." She turned to Harry, "If one of us dies, so does the other."

"Oh," Harry replied.

Gabrielle turned back to her dad, angrily, "And stop referring to it like a tool or a curse, Dad! The veela bond is an irreversible blessing that transforms the lives of the bonded forever!"

Monsieur Delacour smiled, and hugged her tightly, "You sound so much like your mother."

Gabrielle pushed him away. "Whatever."

"Anyway, Mr. Potter, when you feel better please come to the headmistress's office. We have much to discuss." He walked out of the Infirmary.

"About what?" Gabrielle inquired. "Me?"

"About Hogwarts. I came here because Voldemort has taken over all of Britain. He has my friends captive, he has Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic under his control. This was the last place I had contacts."

"Oh my God. Why didn't you me about this?"

"I didn't want to worry you, but since you asked, I couldn't lie. I told Maxime, and she asked your father to come here to discuss plans with me. I will likely end up before the International Ministry of Magic to discuss a plan of action. But, I passed out just now from the vision I told you guys about."

"My god. This is terrible."

"I know," said Harry. "Worst of all, I can't do anything on my own to help. I personally need to be stronger, and that's why I came to another school, to learn."

"Speaking of learning, Maxime told me to tell you that you can come to any of my classes, I'll help you translate from French."

"What time is it?"

"About 7:45. Classes start at 8."

"Well, we had better get going, then."

Harry sat up, and followed Gabrielle out the door.

As they were walking to the class, he asked, "Have you ever had a veela bond before?"

She replied, "No, Harry. You ask that like it's something you can have multiple times. A veela bond is a one-time thing, irreversible and powerful."

"Oh."

"Any other questions?"

"Yeah, what class do you have next?"

"Charms, with Professor Renaud."

When they arrived at the classroom, Harry wasn't in the least surprised to find that the class was as organized and clean as the rest of the school. A few students had already arrived, and the class appeared to seat about 30 or so. Gabby sat them down in the front, and introduced themselves to the Professor, who was portly and pompous.

Harry was bored for the duration of the class, as it seemed that curriculum was different at Beauxbatons, and they were so far ahead that Harry was lost. He only picked up a few things, just about making a custom spell, or how to use your wand to control air currents. Basic things, really, for Harry, but he had a lot on his mind. The bells of the school tolled to indicate the next period, and the girls (and Harry) walked out of the classroom.

A/N Sorry for the abrupt ending there, just wanted to keep the chapters even. Expect Chapter 5 in about a day.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N Chapter 6 contains **lots** of fluff. In fact, if you are interested in the plot, skip to Chapter 7 now, if it's up.

This chapter's a little shorter than normal.

Anyways, I tricked you all. I said "later," and later really meant about half an hour.

Have fun, and enjoy! Don't forget to review.

Beauxbatons, Pyrenees, France 6:30 PM

After his meeting with the European Magical Alliance, he attended an Arithmancy class with Gabrielle. After Arithmancy was her "free period" as she put it. Basically, that was doing whatever you wanted, and was a special privilege for the seventh years, and was assigned in lieu of Muggle Studies. They spent their free period at the Quidditch pitch. Although Gabrielle had had Quidditch practice after lunch, Harry asked if he could try out a broom; he hadn't flown in almost a month.

Gabrielle pointed him to the shed, which contained a variety of brooms in various states of repair. He found a new-ish Firebolt and hopped on. The broom wasn't terribly responsive to his touch, but he managed nonetheless. They played catch with a practice Quaffle from the shed as they flew around the alpine Quidditch pitch. As he flew, mindlessly diving and swerving to catch the ball, he thought about what he was doing. Dozens of his friends were being held hostage by an evil wizard, and here he was playing catch with his friend – or more than friend now; they were bonded. But, he reasoned, the IMM can't meet until tomorrow, and I can't do anything about it. He seemed to have justified himself, but the guilt still weighed on his mind.

Gabrielle caught the ball and drifted over to where he was above the pitch, and asked, "Something on your mind? Oh, I know. How was the meeting?"

"Interesting. Tomorrow we have to speak at the IMM emergency meeting, as you know. And, your father and the other leaders of European countries are pretty sure that they need multiple countries to deal with the predicament at Hogwarts. They're sure that it will be difficult, seeing as Voldemort has the upper hand."

"Tomorrow, what do we do?"

"We just need to get some other countries. This is a European affair, since no one trapped at Hogwarts at Hogwarts right now is from outside of Europe. But, since we're all wizards, hopefully they can help us out."

They finished playing catch, and stowed their brooms away. They made their way back up to the school, delighted to feel the warmth of the halls after the chilly air outside. They made their way to the library, because "It's warm, and I like it," Gabrielle had said.

The library was, indeed, quite warm. The smell of oxidizing books and dust seemed to be a staple in libraries, and Harry found that, although perfectly clean, this library was no exception. The library was rather airy, and the vaulted ceilings, although high, reduced echoes in the library. The hardwood floor was freshly waxed, and the bookshelves were free of dust, all the books orderly.

Harry and Gabrielle made their way over to one the many windows overlooking the mountainsides from the library. They found an old sofa, and sat, hand in hand. Harry found that he was becoming increasingly attracted to her, probably something to do with the veela bond.

They sat for a while, talking about each other's life. Eventually, once all topics of discussion had been exhausted, and the conversation began to draw to a close, and Gabrielle laid her head on Harry's shoulder, tired, and fell asleep shortly afterwards.

Harry thought about how his friends must be right now, confined somewhere in Hogwarts, anxious for rescue. But, even he, with all his worries, drifted off to sleep eventually.

They were awoken by the throat-clearing of a woman, who Harry guessed was the librarian. She said, in rapid-fire French, something sharp and biting. Gabrielle replied, embarrassed. Harry and Gabrille stood up and walked from the library.

"What did she say?" Harry asked.

"She said, and I quote, 'You two are awfully cute, but I'm afraid to tell you that the library is closing now, and you are late for dinner.'"

They approached the Great Hall, and walked through the doors together, drawing giggles from the girls who saw them walk in as a pair. They sat where they usually did, and Gabrielle's friends broke into giggles. Harry and Gabrielle, embarrassed, finished their dinner quickly. When everyone else had finished, Harry asked, "What do we do now?"

"Well, there's not really anything to do. We could go sit in the library, or go sleep or something." Deciding he'd rather not see the librarian again, he said, "Perhaps we should go sit somewhere."

And "sit somewhere" they did. They found a quiet spot on the campus, and sat for a while, in silence, enjoying each other's company and the silence.

A/N C7 will be up in one day.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N Sorry for the giant break in my upload spree. I had a fabulous Father's Day weekend, if you were wondering.

At any rate, read/review, enjoy. Plot resumes here, for you haters of fluff.

Thanks!

Chapter 7

Beauxbatons Academy, Pyrenees, France. 3:00 AM

Gabby and Harry had been instructed to meet Madam Maxime in the Great Hall for a short breakfast before traveling to the meeting center for the International Ministry of Magic.

So, at 3:00, before the sun had even begun to wake up, they encountered each other in the hallway leading to the Hall. In the semi-darkness of the hall, they embraced, and Gabrielle yawned, asking, "Why do we have to be up so early again?"

"The IMM meets in an hour in American Samoa. It's 4:00 PM for them, so we'll get there on time."

They walked to the Great Hall, their footsteps echoing through the empty corridors. Madam Maxime was seated at the staff table, which was devoid of plates, silverware, and chairs, save for two places across from her.

Harry and Gabrielle sat, and began eating the food served to them by the plates. Maxime said, "Eat quickly, because the IMM agents will be here with a portkey in ten minutes. You still need to get your seating pass and a security check."

They finished promptly, and Maxime waved towards the door, saying, "Be safe." Two guards had come in through the Hall Doors, carrying a snow globe. Harry and Gabrielle approached, and one of the guards said, in an American accent, "This is the portkey. I'm afraid the Transportation Office was out of portkeys, so they grabbed something off of Pearce's desk. It should be active in five minutes, so here are your seating passes." Harry and Gabrielle took their passes from the guard's outstretched hand. Harry noted that in the seat number box, it said "UK."

"We're sitting in the British seats?"

"Yes," said the guard. "Delacour appointed you provisional British Minister of Magic."

The guards were very talkative, obviously new recruits, and they talked a lot about Samoa. As they came to the topic of cannibalism, the snow globe glowed blue. The conversation ceased, and one of the guards said, "Grab on."

He felt the familiar yank behind his navel as he was tugged across the world.

When he opened his eyes, he was facing a sunset on a tropical island. The guards motioned, "This way," and Harry and Gabrielle followed behind them. They came to a building, where the guards signaled to another guard inside to let them in.

"This is where we stay," they said. "Pleasure to meet you."

When they entered the glass doors that closed silently behind them, Harry and Gabrielle were met by an older woman with a, in Harry's opinion, esoteric fashion sense. She said to Harry, "You must be Mr. Potter." She turned to Gabrielle and asked, "Who is this young lady? You look familiar."

"I am the daughter of Minister Delacour, and Harry's veela bondmate."

"Of course. Follow me."

Harry whispered, "Do you go about telling everyone that?"

"Of course! Be proud of it."

They walked down the modern hallway of glass and steel. As they rounded the corner, press agents of many different ethnicities were chattering excitedly in many different languages. As harry and Gabrielle approached, the press mobbed them, asking them questions, such as "Who are you?" or "What is your opinion on wand regulation for criminals?" The woman said to Harry and Gabrielle, "Ignore them."

Harry and Gabrielle obliged, and the camera flashes ceased slowly as they rounded the next corner. They came to an open courtyard guarded by two rather scary-looking guards, who were preventing a rabid-looking news reporter from entering the courtyard. They entered the courtyard to find a group of well-dressed men and women waiting for them. The men came over, shook Harry's hand, and many kissed Gabrielle's hand. Harry and Gabrielle were both still in their Beauxbatons uniforms, and felt rather out of place among the well-dressed crowd. Delacour came over to them, and motioned to the woman who had led them here to leave.

Delacour said, "Welcome to Samoa. I hope the press didn't bother you too much. You'll be staying in the west wing here. Unfortunately, you will have to share a two-bed room. I hope you don't mind, Harry. I'm sure Gabriele won't, and neither will I. Apolline!"

"Maman!" Gabrielle exclaimed. She rushed over to a blonde woman and gave her a hug, then started talking in rapid-fire French.

"Mr. Potter, you'll be spending the night in the same room as my daughter, to whom you are spiritually bonded. The bond includes love, and is irreversible and incredibly powerful. However much Gabrielle pesters you, do not have – er – well, just be judicious. I must be off now, we have a dinner soon."

"…and this is Harry, maman. I'm sure you remember him from the Triwizard Tournament."

"Pleasure," Apolline said, nodding. "So you're the lucky man to bond with my precious daughter. You talked with my husband, I assume?"

Harry nodded, anxiously.

"Hm." She said, abruptly. "Well, I must be going as well. I'll get a concierge to take you to the suite."

As if on cue, a concierge emerged from one of the doors adjoining the courtyard, and walked over.

Harry and Gabrielle walked towards him, and when they met, the American concierge said, "Mr. Potter, your room is ready," handing him a keycard. "Please follow me. Your things have been collected from Beauxbatons, and are here."

They walked into the hotel, and stepped into an elevator. The concierge was silent as the elevator ascended, making the ride particularly awkward.

The doors opened, and a bell boy led them over to a set of double doors. He opened the doors with an access card, and he led them into the rather spacious suite. "Monsieur Delacour requested a presidential suite for his daughter and her company, and so we obliged. All expenses are paid for by the International Ministry of Magic, and custom-made attire has been ordered for your use tomorrow at the meeting. Please feel free to call the staff if you need any assistance." He left the room, closing the doors behind him.

Gabrielle walked over to the foot of one of the beds. She opened a blue trunk marked with the letter G, and inspected the contents. She looked over at Harry, who had sat on his bed, and went over to him. "Where are your things?"

"My things?" he asked. "Most of them are in Hermione's endless purse, we had just arrived at Hogwarts and I didn't have time to take anything when I left."

As they were talking, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Gabrielle called.

About four house-elves came in carrying a suit and pants, and a dress. Two house-elves had to hold each outfit, since they were shorter than the items.

They levitated the clothes into the wardrobe, and closed the door. One of the house-elves said, "Your attire is custom-fit. The International Ministry of Magic meeting begins in about a half an hour."

The walked out of the room, and Disapparated in the hallway.

Harry and Gabrielle walked over to the wardrobe, and inspected the attire provided for them. They removed their attire from the hangers, and Gabrielle walked across the room. Harry began taking off his Beauxbatons robes, and he could feel Gabrielle staring at his toned back. He put the t-shirt provided for him on, and began putting on the suit. He could hear fabric shuffling as Gabrielle donned her matching dress. He went over to the bathroom mirror, and tried to put on his bowtie. He finished, and went over to his bed to retrieve his jacket when Gabrielle stopped him.

"How do I look?" she asked. She looked stunning, he couldn't help but blush. "Beautiful," he said.

She tutted, saying, "Your bowtie is crooked." She adjusted it, and said, "You look good too, Harry."

She turned around to put her shoes on, and Harry couldn't help but be intrigued as to how close they had grown.

He assumed that it must be part of the bond that they had become accustomed to each other and the initial awkwardness between them had melted away so quickly.

She said, "Yes."

Harry turned, confused. "What?"

"Didn't you ask me if it was part of the bond that we became so close so quickly?"

"Well, that's what I was thinking. But I didn't say anything, no."

"It's the bond!" she grinned. "It's maturing. You can communicate with me mentally. Maman said that it was one of the most interesting things."

"Oh," he replied, put off by her enthusiasm.

They finished getting ready, and she asked him, "Ready? I have the passes."

"Yep, lets go," he replied.

They exited the doors and took the elevator to the lobby, where a crowd of men and women dressed in suits and dressed matching their own were walking out the door.

Harry asked Gabrielle, "Just follow them?"

She nodded in reply, and they followed the crowd to the other end of the courtyard. They came to another set of doors, where their passes were inspected by another set of guards. They passed through the checkpoint, and made their way with the crowd to another checkpoint, where they were check by guards for weapons, and their wands were inspected.

"Welcome to the convention center, Mr. Potter and Ms. Delacour," the American guards said.

They entered a last set of doors that opened onto an airy building with a glass dome, and rows of seats. Harry could only compare it to pictures he had seen on the television of the House of Commons in British Parliament, except that everything was glass and chrome, and the seats were arranged circularly with only two aisles leading to the middle floor.

The seats were already filling in slowly with the representatives, some old, some young. There was no seating for the press, and, in fact, Harry noticed, there were no press in the room. He guessed that what happened in here was confidential unless formally released.

As they made their way around the outside, Delacour spotted him and Gabrielle, and pointed at a seat. Harry followed his finger, and found two seats at a desk bearing the British flag, next to a rather old man who was currently yelling at his neighbor.

Harry and Gabrielle made their way to their seats, the Russian minister who had commented about the earpieces made his way over, shaking Harry's hand and kissing Gabrielle's.

"If you're wondering," he said in English, "this entire hall is enchanted so that each person hears speech in their own language. Welcome to the IMM."

Harry and Gabrielle made their way to their seats, which were about halfway up the rings, in between the Irish Minister and the Finnish minister. The Irish minister eyed Harry suspiciously, then extended a hand. "Welcome, lad. I was just arguing with Mr. America here about who would be representing Britain today. I said it was you, he was convinced he was going to be appointed Minister of England, too. Something about payback for colonization. Anyway, I'm Irish Minister O'Connor." (A/N Couldn't think of any other Irish name.) The person Harry assumed to be the American minister approached, walking around the Irish minister, and groaned. The Irish minister cackled, and said, "I told you, lad." The American minister extended a hand to Harry, and bowed to Gabrielle. He reassumed his seat.

By the time the meeting started, Harry had shaken the hands of at least half the entire Ministry.

At 5:00 PM, an older woman approached the one desk in the middle of the room, and tapped her wand against it. The room quieted slowly, but Mr. O'Connor seemed intent on shouting at the American minister.

She shot a Stunning Spell in Mr. O'Connor's direction, the blast of red quieting him instantly.

"This convention is now in session, chaired by the elected leader of the IMM, Filipino Minister Aquino. All rise."

A/N That ends Chapter 7, thanks for reading. Chapter 8 will include a, well, bombing. Expect violence and bloodshed. Voldemort knows where they are meeting.

Review, please! It means everything to me.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N Here's chapter 8. In the previous note at the end of chapter 7, I said bombing. I meant attack. Cliffhanger-ish ending.

Read and review, please!

An older, dark-skinned man, Aquino, walked down the aisle and took the seat of the desk in the room. The woman returned to where she had been sitting at the Ukrainian desk.

"Thank you, Assistant Minister Petrova. Mr. O'Connor, if you persist in being an annoyance, we will eject you from your position as Minister, and probably give your position to your son."

"Well she didn't have to try to bloody Stun me!" O'Connor retorted.

"Silence, sir. Let us address our routine business before proceeding to the more urgent."

A series of votes were called, and Harry wasn't sure what to do. After a few votes, the Finnish minister said, "You get to vote, too, you know." Harry then took sides in the matters presented.

After the votes were finished, the chairman said, "Now for the more urgent matter of Britain. The European Magical Alliance has appointed Harry Potter the provisional Minister of Magic of Britain, so that he could appear here today. Minutes will be available of this meeting upon request. As you know, we have a massive hostage situation at Hogwarts School. Harry left the school after his friends told him to leave, in the interest of being able to be rescued. Only through quick action can we ensure that their efforts to get Harry here were not in vain."

The Chinese Minister raised his hand, and was acknowledged by the chairman. He asked, "Am I right in assuming that Mr. Potter is seeking intervention from the IMM to rescue the hostages?"

"Yes," Harry responded.

The chairman asked Harry, "How many people have you told of this?"

"No one, except Monsieur Delacour, his daughter, Gabrielle, and Headmistress Maxime of Beauxbatons."

"Good. We don't want to start an international panic."

The American Minister asked, "Why was Mr. Potter appointed Minister and not a fully eligible member of the Ministry of Magic of Britain?"

"Because," Delacour said, "The Ministry of Magic has been overrun by Voldemort's Death Eaters. Scrimgeour has been assassinated, and many leaders in the Ministry have been executed by Voldemort. Our sources tell us that Voldemort has assassinated the Muggle prime minister of Britain, and that, well, all of Britain is in chaos. To be frank, sir, Potter was appointed because everyone else is trapped in Britain."

The discussion continued for another hour. Harry was asked several questions by many people, and the discussion only ended when Aquino ended it.

"It is now 11:00 PM." Aquino said. "This session of the meeting is adjourned. We will have another meeting at the same time tomorrow night. None of this is to be released to the press. Good night." He exited the center, and people began to file out behind him. As they passed through the checkpoints, the press approached the representatives, asking many questions, none of which were answered.

Harry and Gabrielle got to their hotel room, and closed the door.

"That was pretty boring, huh?" she commented.

"Yep." Harry said, flopping on his bed. She sat next to him, and said, "You know, it's only about 10 AM our time. Perhaps we should go do something."

"Like what?" he asked.

"I don't know, go by the beach." They changed into less dressy clothing, Harry finding that the house-elves had supplied him with some khaki shorts and a t-shirt. They passing through the lobby, now quiet.

The concierge nodded at them as they passed the desk. As they entered the courtyard, they saw signs pointing the way to the beach. They followed the signs down a staircase that led to the sand of the island. They walked to the water's edge, near a quiet cabana that was lit by torches.

"You know," Gabrielle said, "I came here once, with my dad. It was for another meeting, and I remember playing here in the water."

"I wouldn't know about that." Harry said, "My parents died, you know, in the attack on Godric's hollow, and my aunt and uncle never took me anywhere. I lived in a cupboard under the stairs until I was accepted to Hogwarts."

"No way." Gabrielle said, laughing. "Oh, wait. You're serious. That's terrible."

"You thought I was joking?" Harry asked. "Well, I guess coming from the daughter of the Minister of Magic of France, that's not surprising."

She asked him, "How do you think your friends are?"

Seeing his face after she asked him that question, she said, "Sorry for asking."

"It's okay," he said. "Voldemort is probably torturing them, trying to figure out where I am."

"They don't know though, right?"

"No, they don't. But, Voldemort will probably guess that the IMM has found me. But, he doesn't know where they meet."

Gabrielle gave him a hug, saying, "If you need someone to talk to, let me know. I'm your bond-mate, it's what I'm here for. Fate wouldn't bring us together for no reason."

He pulled away, said, "I know," then kissed her. She was taken aback at this sudden display of emotion, then kissed him back.

They broke apart, and Harry said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked.

"I don't know what came over me just now. You're the daughter of the French Minister of Magic, and I just kissed you. I mean, I know we held hands and spent time together at Beauxbatons, but that was only a few days. I just feel like we're getting too close, too fast. I don't even know that much about you."

"It's fine," she said. "It's part of the bond. Soon, you'll feel like you've known me all your life."

Harry smiled.

They talked for a while longer, then just laid back on the sand, looking at the stars.

After some time, Harry noticed a new light coming from the sky behind him. He turned around, and saw the Southern Lights, the Aurora Australis, twinkling high above the ground. "Look," he said. Gabrielle turned, and,, as she turned, the lights changed color.

The pleasant shades of blue and purple became a consistent green, which began taking the shape of…no, Harry thought. It couldn't be. Gabrielle gasped. "The Dark Mark." A commotion rose in the courtyard behind them, as the guards noticed the Mark in the sky. The warm night, the inviting lights of the cabana, all of it suddenly seemed cold and distant.

Jet black smoke flew across the southern skies, and more followed.

The Death Eaters had arrived.

A/N That concludes this chapter. Review!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N Here's the ninth chapter of HPLA.

That cliffhanger was making my blood boil. At any rate, my computer has decided to more or less die, and so I'll be stuck on my phone. Chapters most likely will not be uploaded in as quick succession as previously, but still expect a steady output from yours truly.

Enjoy, and review.

Chapter 9

IMM Convention Center, American Samoa. 11:35 PM Local.

The first spells were beginning to explode through the air, jets of color lighting up the night sky. Harry and Gabrielle were hurrying across the sand when two jets of black landed behind the wall of the courtyard, near the stairs leading to the hotel.

"Harry!" hissed Gabrielle, pulling him down onto the ground. "If they see you, Voldemort will know you're here." She cast a Disillusionment Spell over them, and they sat still on the sand. "Can't we disapparate?" Harry whispered. "No, I can't leave my dad." The figures in black robes whispered quietly, and began to jog along the beach towards the back of the hotel, passing Harry and Gabrielle. They came to the corner of the modern building, not far from them, and stopped.

"What's the plan?" asked one of them. "Cast reductos until the building collapses?"

"No," answered the other. "The Dark Lord wants Aquino alive."

Gabrielle gasped quietly. "Harry, let me get them."

"No, Gabrielle - " she got up.

"Stay there," she commanded. "They cannot know you are here." The Death Eaters were in the process of breaking into the hotel from the back when Gabrielle dropped the Disillusionment Charm. She flashed a quick stunner into the arm of the guard nearest her, and a Petrificus Totalus at the one farther.

She walked past the stunned man, and reached for the wand of the petrified one. She tossed it into the surf, and turned to the other man, who was recovering.

Gabrielle attacked, with a silent Impedimenta. He raised his wand, and produced a shield Charm that absorbed her curse. He stepped closer, maintaining the shield, and cast the killing curse at her. She ducked beneath the deadly green light, and wheeled towards him, wordlessly casting hex after hex. He cast a bombarda into the sand in front of her, causing her to stagger backwards. He took advantage of her and disarmed her, and Harry burst forth from the sand, a whirlwind of curses. The Death Eater fell, unconscious, to the ground, when a particularly powerful stunner struck him in the temple.

Gabrielle reached for her wand, and gave Harry a hug. "Thanks." She turned to the Death Eaters and obliviated them, green light washing over the beach.

They walked up the steps, and into the courtyard, where the guards were in intense combat with the Death Eaters. Death Eaters began attacking Harry and Gabrielle, who retaliated quickly and powerfully, defeating a number of Death Eaters before being pushed against the courtyard wall by a blast of Fiendfyre. After taking fire from a rather nasty Sectumsempra, a guard cast a well-placed Protego that trapped the Death Eaters into a corner, forcing them to fly away, over the courtyard wall. Harry and Gabrielle took the opportunity to rush into the hotel, where the Ministers of Magic and their entourages were being herded into the small restaurant beneath the hotel, which seemed to be the most secure spot. Harry and Gabrielle rushed into the room, where they were greeted hurriedly by Monsieur Delacour. A renewed attack began on the hotel lobby as the guards closed and barricaded the restaurant doors.

The room inside was mostly silent, save for the occasional anxious whisper. Many of the elderly in the room looked as if they'd seen worse. Mr. O'Connor, for example, had his wand drawn and was telling a group of younger ladies that he'd "seen worse shit." For the most part, however, everyone in the room was quiet.

Monsieur Delacour asked if they were hurt, and they both replied no, deciding not to mention the Death Eaters they had incapacitated. A rather large table was being converted into a Portkey by the Chinese Minister, who looked nervous, visibly becoming more anxious as each part of the spell layered itself into the table. Harry noticed that another table was being prepared for the people who had accompanied the Ministers, but Delacour said, "No, you'll be coming with us."

"You see," Delacour explained, "We cannot apparate out because there is no Apparating to or from the island."

"How did the Death Eaters get here then?"

"Well, that black flying thing they do isn't Apparating. It's like flying, except not."

They turned, towards the crowd, and the Chinese Minister was directing people to grab the Portkey. They grabbed part of the large conference table, which probably sat at least 30 regularly, and so accommodated all the hands comfortably.

"Where are we going?" asked Gabrielle.

"I don't know," was her dad's reply. "Probably a Ministry somewhere."

Harry noticed that the fight outside had calmed down considerably, as if the remaining Death Eaters had purposefully discontinued their attack on the hotel. The Chinese Minister commented, in a few different languages, "About 30 seconds. Hold on."

In about half a minute, the Portkey glowed, and they were taken across the world again. But, this time, they arrived within view of a place all-too-familiar to Harry.

The once cheery and welcoming spires of Hogwarts were visible over the hill. Now, they seemed to absorb the peace of the Scottish countryside, leaving a cold, dark feeling hanging over the area. Burnt buildings surrounded them, the charred remains of a once-bustling center of human life.

A few recognized the castle in the distance, and the Chinese Minister, who had created the Portkey, said, in English, "Forgive me."

It was then that Harry realized something had been off. Death Eaters Apparated from nowhere, encircling the group. The monsters Voldemort had allied to his cause emerged from the trees and shadows, and stood around the group of Ministers, preventing escape.

Shortly after they were encircled, the Dark Lord himself emerged from the ranks of his army. Harry was in the center of the group, unseen by the army. Voldemort jeered, "Welcome to Britain. I have cast a ward preventing Apparating for, well, everyone but my Death Eaters."

The left side of the Dark Lord's body was being consumed by a black substance, as Harry had seen in his vision. The substance seemed to emanate darkness, and it was quite unsettling.

He laughed ominously, and beckoned to the Chinese minister. The minister bowed in front of the Dark Lord, eliciting a gasp from the Ministers assembled. "It seems Chang has served me well. I heard about everything, and I know you have the boy."

He stood in front of the group assembled around the table, and asked, "Where is he?"

The Ministers were unyielding.

"Perhaps now that I have all of the leaders of the modern magical world captive, I can advance my plans for world domination.''

"Pledge your allegiance to me now, that I might spare you. I have already destroyed the government of Britain, the strongest magical nation in the world. I can assure you, yours will fall quickly."

The ministers shifted uneasily. He did have a point.

"But enough of this. Where is Potter?"

The ministers didn't move.

He approached the crowd, and pushed his way through, wand drawn. Many of the ministers recoiled from his touch, backing away. He looked through the group, and his eyes settled on Harry.

"Ah, Mr. Potter."

Harry knew that in this position, he couldn't do anything.

Voldemort took him from the group, and said, "Take the prisoners to the Hall, and bring me their wands. I will take care of Potter." Then, he turned into black smoke, still grabbing Harry.

He flew towards the spires of Hogwarts.

The Death Eaters were confiscating the wands of the ministers. Even Mr. O'Connor, stubborn as he was, gave in and had to relinquish his wand.

The midday sun in Britain (A/N TIME ZONE) seemed cold and uninviting as the captured leaders were marched to the castle.

A/N That's the end of this chapter.

Chapter 10 will be out soon.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N Here is Chapter 10, as promised. Soon is tangible.

Chapter 10

Hogwarts, Scotland, 12:00 PM Local

Voldemort had taken Harry to the headmaster's office, and stood with him at the desk.

Harry noticed that Voldemort hadn't bothered to disarm him, so he must have been confident. Suddenly, he felt Gabrielle. Not physically, but in his head. She asked, "Are you OK?"

He replied, "Yes. Are you guys OK?"

"Yes. They took our wands, and we are being marched to Hogwarts."

"I'm with Voldemort. I'll be safe."

"OK."

Voldemort cackled, "At last. Harry Potter, without some stupid protection, delivered to me. You know now that part of me is in you, and you know the prophecy. I must kill you, Potter."

Harry remained stone-faced.

"Your friends have been convinced that you would come back. Well, you did, but not in the way they expect. Shall we go see them? Follow me."

Harry had no choice but to oblige. He followed the Dark Lord down the spiral stairs, through the rotating eagle, and to the Great Hall. As they walked, Harry noticed a growth on By the time they arrived, the ministers and Gabby were being ushered roughly into the Hall, as well.

Harry turned the corner, and was greeted by the sight of his friends sitting on the stone floor of the Great Hall, defeated.

His friends looked up, expecting to see more prisoners, and they saw Harry and gasped. They saw that he was walking behind Voldemort, and their faces contorted into anger.

Harry continued following the Dark Lord, and he saw more and more faces. He found Ginny sitting with Hermione and Ron, and they looked up, and smiled wanly before retreating into their despair again.

The Hall woke up at the sight of Harry, but then realized his predicament, and they seemed more defeated.

Voldemort reached the raised pedestal where Dumbledore had once stood. He raised the light level in the hall, and said, his voice magnified, "I have an announcement."

No one looked up.

"We have captured the Ministers of Magic from every country in the International Ministry of Magic. We have also captured Harry Potter."

There was an even more pronounced gasp from the prisoners. There were shouts of "No, Harry!" from across the hall that ended in screams as they received a Cruciatus Curse.

Voldemort pulled a chair from the empty and barren staff table, and indicated to Harry to sit in it. Harry, once again, was forced to oblige.

"Now, begins the new age." Voldemort said, drawing his wand. "Now, no one can harm me."

"I must say, Potter, I expected greater resistance from you. All you did was walk into my trap, and now you will die."

He raised the Elder Wand, and cast the killing curse. "Avada Kedavra!"

Harry saw the flash of green, then white, then he opened his eyes.

Somewhere.

He was in a green field, standing by an angular stone. In the middle of the green field, in the direction the stone seemed to point, he saw a stone structure. He recognized the structure as the complete Stonehenge. At the Altar Stone in the middle of the ancient Sarsen Horseshoe, he saw a robed man. He jogged the distance from the stone to the man, who turned to greet him. The man eyed him strangely, then cautiously bowed to Harry, asking, "Whither comest?"

"Pardon?" Harry said.

"Whither comest thou, lad?"

"Where am I?"

"Thou art at the Stonehenge, in Albion."

Harry recognized Albion as the ancient name of England, before the Romans named it Britannia. He looked around, and then back to the man.

"What year is it?"

"It is the fourteenth day of After-Yule."

"What?"

"Art thou ill? What wearest?"

Harry looked at his t-shirt and jeans.

He glanced down and shrugged. "Clothes."

The man reached out to him and touched his clothes.

"Tis unlike any cloth I have felt."

The man was examining the fibers of his shirt, when from the other side of the hill came a voice.

"Who goes there besides you, Aelfgar?"

"A stranger, sir."

A man reached the top of the hill, and looked at Harry. Harry returned his intent gaze. The man looked familiar to Harry, but he couldn't quite place his face. He had much the same twinkle in his eyes as Dumbledore, or even the International Minister. Harry sensed power in this man in the very same way Dumbledore and the Minister had radiated control - even standing in the middle of a breezy plain, surrounded by nature the robed man seemed in total control.

He spoke to Harry, "Good day, sir. Whither comest?"

"I don't know. Who are you?"

"I am Merlin, wizard of Albion, traveler of the world."

Harry processed this, and said, "Merlin?" He realized now why he looked so familiar. Harry had seen many illustrations of Merlin in his years of study at Hogwarts.

"That is me. Now, who are you, or I shall have to take you to the king." Merlin drew his wand. Harry found his own wand in his pocket. He drew it confidently, and Merlin gasped.

"A wand?"

Merlin turned to his companion, saying, "Come with me, if you please. Aelfgar, continue the drawings."

Hogwarts, Scotland, 12:45 PM

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, when the Killing Curse had struck Harry, the Hall erupted in outrage. Voldemort shot stupefy spells into the crowds, the Death Eaters doing the same.

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort shouted.

Gabrielle had keeled over on the ground next to her dad, in extreme pain. Delacour, alarmed, knelt down beside her. "Gabrielle! Are you OK?"

Gabrielle coughed violently, and her nose began to bleed, blood gushing from her nose like a faucet.

A few of the ministers crowded around her, but without their wands, they were powerless.

Gabrielle opened her eyes, said, weakly, "Harry," then she passed out.

The blood flow slowed, and eventually her nose clotted. The Spanish minister checked for a pulse on her wrist, and told Delacour, "She is alive, but barely there."

Delacour was white with anxiety, and sat by Gabrielle as she remained unconscious.

Stonehenge, Albion

Harry stood by Aelfgar a moment longer as Merlin began to head over the hill, taking in the surroundings. Was he dead? He didn't know. As he contemplated the monoliths of Stonehenge, he saw a flash of blonde as a certain Veela fell to the ground.

He rushed over to Gabrielle as she lay by the stone he had come from. Aelfgar saw him run over, and he called Merlin back.

"What is it, Aelfgar?"

"Master, another has come!"

Merlin turned and looked at Harry carrying Gabrielle across the green field. When Harry reached Merlin, Merlin asked, "You have met?"

Harry replied, breathlessly, "Yes."

Harry carried Gabrielle to Merlin's cart. Merlin mounted the cart, waved to Aelfgar, grabbed the reins, and set off.

When Harry asked where they were going, Merlin replied, "A village."

Harry had laid Gabrielle down on the woolen cloth in the back of the cart. As the cart began to move, she began to stir. She opened her eyes, and saw Harry. She sat up quickly, then clambered up onto the cart seat next to Harry, still shaky.

"Where am I? I was just in Hogwarts, and Voldemort killed you, and I felt a pain in my chest, and –"

"I don't know. We are in Ancient England, called Albion. The man leading the cart is Merlin."

"What?"

"I don't know. I'm honestly as confused as you are. He's taking us to his village, and he seemed impressed that I had my wand."

"Did it hurt?" she asked.

"The killing curse? No. It was quick. I'm not sure if I'm dead though, seeing as I have my wand.

Harry hadn't noticed that it was actually pretty cold outside. The veela bond still seemed to be working, as she mentally commented on the nature of their imprisonment as she showed him that someone had taken her wand.

They rode in silence, Merlin only asking the occasional question in an attempt to learn where they had come from.

After about four hours of travel, they arrived at the village, which was small and quiet. It was beginning to get dark. There were a few people in the streets that gawked at Harry and Gabrielle. Merlin ushered them into his house, and sat them in chairs by his fire.

He closed the windows, and sat across from them.

He pointed to Harry, asking "How do you call yourself?"

"My name?"

"Yes."

"Harry."

"And your woman?"

Gabrielle opened her mouth to protest, but Harry mentally asked her to be quiet.

"She is named Gabrielle."

"Have you your wand?"

Merlin was inquisitive.

"Yes."

"Show me what you can do."

Harry produced his wand, and caused a leather-bound tome on Merlin's table to rise up.

Merlin gave Harry a look very similar to Dumbledore's eye-twinkling glance over the top of his half-moon glasses.

"Surely you can do more than just levitate a book."

Harry closed his eyes and thought of the last time his friends were safely together with him, focused on their smiles and on their laughter, and cast his Patronus.

Merlin was impressed. He passed his wand over Harry. "Thou art very powerful in the magic," Merlin said. "I feel your power." He continued probing the air around Harry. He chuckled. He probed an area around Harry's chest, then commented, "It feels as if thy spirit is torn, torn wide. Split across time." He closed his eyes, then reached towards Gabrielle, as well.

"I know why she hath come after you. Thy energies are bound, and moving so suddenly across time and space hath pulled her with you."

"Can you send me back?" Harry asked.

"I cannot, but there is an artifact at the High School that could, perhaps."

"How long does it take to get to the High School?" Gabrielle asked.

"A week's travel by cart," said Merlin.

Harry had a hunch. He had read some history of Hogwarts, and learned that the four founders had built Hogwarts over the site of an ancient school. In fact, he had come through the ancient part of the castle when he had defeated Professor Quirrell.

"Is the school in the far north, by a lake? With merpeople and squids?" Harry asked.

"Yes. It is by a lake housing a substantial number of merpeople."

Gabrielle recognized what Harry was getting on to.

"Merlin, sir, have you ever Apparated?"

"Pardon, have I what?"

"Apparated." Harry stood, and Apparated across the room with a crack.

Merlin was absolutely dumbfounded. "What is this?" he shouted, rising to his feet, awestruck and threatened at the same time.

Gabrielle performed a similar feat, and Merlin was even more awestruck.

"How –"

"I can't teach you, but I think I can take you to the High School." Harry extended his hand to Merlin, and Gabrielle grabbed his hand.

Harry stepped forward, and thought of the Great Hall. He hesitated, because he remembered that the Great Hall hadn't been built yet.

He elected to Apparate to a place he knew existed, Hogsmeade.

There was a crack, and Merlin, Harry, and Gabrielle appeared out of thin air at Hogsmeade, in front of a short building that would later become the Hog's Head.

Merlin was amazed. A few elderly wizards poked their heads out of their shop windows, then poked them back in. The three wizards ran up the steps to the school. When they mounted the hill, Harry saw a single story building, made of stone.

"Is this the High School?"

"Yes."

A contingent of wizards came out to greet Merlin. They stopped when they saw the oddly dressed couple with him. One of them ran in to tell the Headmaster of the School.

He entered the Headmaster's study, which was in the room in which Harry had retrieved the philosopher's stone, and reported that "A man in short white tunic and blue cloth wrapping his legs and a woman dressed similarly have arrived with Merlin."

The headmaster hurried up the stairs, more interested in seeing these travelers than his old colleague, Merlin.

The headmaster walked from the door, and Merlin reached out to embrace him. He pointed at Harry, and asked, "Who art thou?"

Harry said, "I am from the future. I need to return there."

The headmaster hesitated, but Merlin nodded.

He said, "Come in. We have much to discuss."

They entered through the door, and entered a Hallway that Harry recognized as the hallway in which he had escaped Fluffy. The hall was clean and bright, filled with desks and wizards studying. An occasional spell disrupted the silence, and many wizards looked up at the strangers.

The headmaster approached the trapdoor upon which Fluffy had been kept, and opened it, descending into another brightly lit room. Harry recognized the same rooms as he had seen when he had retrieved the sorcerer's stone. He passed through them, and reached the final room, where Quirrell had been defeated. The room was a library, with a desk covered in books.

The headmaster said, "This is my study."

He sat at his desk, and opened it, rummaging through a pile of scrolls. He pulled out a gilded scroll, and read it aloud.

"This is a report from a person who journeyed to the Oracle of Delphi in Greece: 'The Oracle, in her wisdom, hath informed me that there will, one day, be two people that come by the monument, one of a hawk and one of a stag. She sayeth that they art of the future, and that they must be returned lest they destroy the world.'"

"This is a prophecy of the Oracle of Greece. And you two appear to be the people described in the prophecy. We received this report from a student abroad in Greece. When we received this message, we created a device that theoretically traverses time. But we do not have enough power to make it work. Not even the combined energy of all the wizards of Albion can make our creation function."

Harry contemplated how to get back, but he came up dry. He was lost, again, and there was no way he could get back.

The headmaster said, "We will take you to try to operate this machine tomorrow."

Harry asked, "Where do we stay?

Merlin replied, "We have rooms here at the school reserved for guests."

The headmaster said, "I will see you tomorrow."

Merlin led Harry and Gabrielle from the room. They took a left in the room in which Harry had caught keys on a broomstick and they found a hallway, one that Harry had never seen before. Merlin showed them to a door on the left. Harry opened the door to find a guest bedroom that was small and cozy, with one bed and a fireplace. Harry asked Merlin if they had any food, and Merlin called for a young wizard to bring food to the room.

Gabrielle and Harry sat on the bed, and the young servant rushed back with food. They took the hard bread and wine offered them, and ate it quickly. The servant took their plates and left the room.

Harry laid back on the bed, and Gabrielle laid beside him. The bed was easily big enough to fit the two of them, and it was stuffed with something incredibly soft.

Harry and Gabrielle fell asleep quickly, dreaming of their time.

A/N What an interesting chapter. My mind is blown.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N Here is Chapter 11.

Read/Review!

Chapter 11

Albion High School of Magic

Harry and Gabrielle were roused by a young wizard, who informed them that the headmaster requested their presence in his study.

They disentangled themselves from each other's arms, and they got up from the bed and followed the boy to the headmaster's study.

The headmaster had a rather interesting contraption in the corner. It was made of stone, a roughly hewn doorway on wheels. Harry could feel the magic it emitted, and he pointed and asked, "Is that the arch?"

The headmaster nodded. He indicated a rune on the keystone of the arch, and he produced his own wand, and cast a spell into the rune. The rune glowed with power as it absorbed the energy, and a glow spread into the rest of the arched doorway.

"So you need to put as much power as you can into the arch?"

Gabrielle said, "Well, here's your problem." The headmaster was taken aback at a woman talking out of turn in such a situation as this. (A/N Think about how women were treated during the medieval ages.) However, seeing that she produced a rather good Patronus, he let her talk.

"The arch is made of stone," she said. "That won't conduct magic very well."

The headmaster indicated a hunk of metal on the corner of his desk. "If need you something of high magical conductance, this magemetal should work. Merlin himself discovered it underneath Stonehenge."

Harry remembered that magemetal was the stuff that Ollivander had used when making his wand, and he agreed that it would probably work pretty well after what the wandmaker had told him about it.

Gabrielle continued, "Perhaps if you coat the whole arch in magemetal, it will conduct the magic correctly."

The headmaster nodded. "We do have a large smithy here at the School. He has sufficient reserves of magemetal to coat it."

He motioned to two wizards to wheel the arch outside. They followed the arch to the trapdoor, and the headmaster levitated it up to the next floor. They wheeled the arch outside, and over to a small house with a large forge alongside it. "Ollivander!" he shouted. A man emerged from the house, and Harry glanced at him, then jumped. He looked almost exactly like Ollivander from Diagon Alley, except younger.

He asked, "How may I help you?"

"I want this arch coated in magemetal."

His eyes widened. "The whole arch?"

The headmaster nodded. The smith said, "We'll probably run out of magemetal after this. Merlin had better procure more."

"Thank you, Ollivander." The smith nodded. "It won't take too long. I only have to melt then pour the metal over the arch's surface.I'd guess about thirty minutes, if I can find my apprentices.

The headmaster nodded his approval, then said the Harry and Gabrielle, "I will offer my assistance to the smithy. I will come find you when the arch is ready." He and the older but younger-looking Ollivander went into the shop.

Harry had an idea. He turned to Gabby. "You know that vision I had when I passed out the other morning during breakfast, of Voldemort and the black growth on his hand?"

"Hmm?"

"Perhaps Merlin knows something about it. He's a powerful wizard, can't you sense it?"

"Oui, my love, I can."

They made their way back up to the school, and asked one of the couriers if he knew where Merlin was. The boy indicated a large set of double doors in the entrance hall, which were slightly ajar.

The two made their way into the room on the other side, opening the door that looked heavy, but swung open without any resistance. Gabrielle's face lit up when they were greeted by rows of bookshelves filled with the most colorful array of giant tomes, enormous codexes, and massive compendiums Harry had ever seen. He thought her smile was rather cute, too.

Merlin was seated at a desk, with a large book open in front of him.

"Merlin," inquired Harry, "This may sound like a strange question, but have you ever seen a magical black growth that consumes its host?"

He said that he had heard stories and read accounts of how it consumed even the mightiest of wizards, turning them into creatures, part human, but controlled entirely by the growth. He noted he had only seen it personally once, and that that was when he visited the court of a king of the far eastern dynasties.

"It seems to be some kind of living mass - a manifestation of darkness. I watched it consume him, and use his body." He shifted in his chair, raising his hand. "It began here, on his hand, they said." He motioned to the rest of his arm. "When I arrived, his whole arm was in decay."

"What happened to him? How did it use his body?" asked Harry.

"I was told it had begun quite some time before I had arrived - I stayed there for about a year and a half, until it - well - until it took control. When it had covered his arm and reached his torso, he became weaker and weaker. As it began to take his head, he told me he lost his senses, then became paralyzed."

Merlin took a deep breath. "That night, I awoke to a panic in the halls of the palace. Screaming, fire, chaos, and a dark power overwhelming the palace. It was early morning, and I ran through the halls, looking for him. I knew it must've been him - I sensed the darkness in the decay that had consumed him."

Merlin paused. "He was almost completely consumed with the black growth, except for part of his face, towards his skull. He was losing control of his body, the powerful dark aura trying to take his magical power and use it to kill everyone. In his last moments, before it took him, he said no words, but only shouted for us to leave."

"People began to flee, but I remained with one of his lead noblemen. The king had fallen silent. He had turned back towards us, and spoke no words. He drew his wand, and attacked with pure dark energy, doubtlessly the energy of the darkness that had taken him. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. His nobleman motioned for me to flee, and cast a spell I had ever encountered, nor have I ever heard or seen since. The nobleman exploded with a burst of radiant white light which surrounded the darkness, and confined him."

Harry thought, to Gabrielle, " _That sounds like the same spell Aquino used trying to stop Voldemort._ " She agreed mentally.

"I fled," continued Merlin. "I could not fight it. I tried to save what other residents of the palace I could, and got many to safety. The non-wizarding military had come, and from the reports I heard, were destroyed. I left the land, for I had already planned on traveling to the desert empires of the south."

The headmaster burst into the library

The arch, this whole time, had been cooling. When the headmaster arrived, he stepped towards the arch, wand drawn. He cast a bolt of light into the rune, and the entire arch glowed white. Merlin joined him, and the arch glowed an even more intense white, but nothing else happened.

Harry and Gabrielle cast their own bolts of light into it, but nothing happened. Merlin said, "The power being absorbed by the metal should be enough to cause a tear in the membrane of the universe. I don't know any spells that cause separation like that, though."

Gabrielle asked Harry, "Isn't that how the Killing Curse works?"

"The what?" asked the headmaster?

"The Avada Kedavra? The Killing Curse?"

"That is Dark Magic, and is extremely dangerous. I doubt it would work."

"It's worth a try, nothing else has seemed to work."

The headmaster drew his wand, and cast "Avada Kedavra." A jet of green leapt from the end of his wand into the rune. There was a crack, the metal glowed white hot, then settled. A gentle mist appeared in the arch, settling into a veil.

Harry gasped. It was the veil that Sirius had fell through when he had been killed at the Ministry of Magic. He remembered that Dumbledore had called the veil, "An old artifact, something used to reconcile the souls of the deceased." He had then remarked, "A nasty thing, Harry, you shouldn't touch it."

The mists of the veil pulsed with dark energy, and faces were seen inside it, screaming in agony. Harry said, "Let's try." He grabbed Gabrielle's hand, walked through the arch, and wasn't seen coming out the back.

Harry felt himself in the chair back in the Great Hall. Voldemort was cackling, "Harry Potter is dead!"

He heard Gabrielle through the mental bond, "Are you there?"

"Yes."

"Let's see what he'll do with you."

As if on cue, Voldemort had turned around, and used a levitation spell to lift Harry onto the staff table at the front of the Hall.

Voldemort laughed.

A/N There shall be more.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Hogwarts

The hall was still, only a quiet murmur hovering in the crowd. Gabrielle had gotten up, and walked over to where Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny sat. Ron was smitten with the veela, and he moved closer to her as she sat down.

Despair was a preeminent emotion throughout the crowd, as their hopes of survival were dashed now that Harry was dead. They knew Voldemort had only been keeping them alive to bait Harry back.

Gabrielle looked at them, and said, simply, "Harry's not dead."

"What? Are you loony?" Ron asked her, still a bit befuddled by her beauty.

"Hermione, you'll understand." She took a deep breath. "When Harry came to Beauxbatons after you guys asked him to leave Hogwarts, he formed a veela bond with me, primarily catalyzed by the fact that he rescued me from the lake during the Triwizard Tournament."

Ron was dumbfounded. How had Harry gotten so lucky?

Gabrielle continued, "One of the effects of the bond is mental communication. And, he isn't dead. There's a lot more that we can tell you about later, but for now, all I can say is that he's alive. Here, watch his hand."

She thought to Harry, "Move your hand!"

Harry obliged, and Ron and Hermione gasped. None of the Death Eaters noticed, instead deciding to revel with their master in their victory.

Voldemort announced, "I will leave him here, as a symbol of your failure. Touch him, and die. But your deaths approach swiftly anyway." He flew from the Hall in a jet of smoke.

There was commotion in one of the corners of the hall, and shouts followed. Harry noticed that his wand remained in his pocket. Voldemort hadn't bothered disarming him. Harry reached into his pocket while the Death Eaters were distracted and placed his wand in his hand, out of the sight of the Death Eaters.

Harry mentally warned Gabrielle, who told Ron and Hermione, "Get ready. Follow me." Harry rolled off of the staff table, and knelt by Dumbledore's dais, and cast a Killing Curse at the Death Eater nearest him, who fell to the ground, lifeless. Harry disarmed the other Death Eater. Seeing this, the captives took advantage of the rest of the distracted Death Eaters, tackling them to the ground, and taking their wands. Harry blew open the doors to the Great Hall, motioning for Ron, Hermione, and Gabrielle to follow him. There was a massive rush towards the now-open doors, and people followed Harry. Death Eaters came out of one of the hallways, two who were obviously more prepared than their compatriots. The two cast Fiendfyre into the hallway, separating Harry and Gabrielle from Ron and Hermione and the rest of the hostages. One of the Death Eaters used the Fiendfyre to push the hostages back into the hall, while the other guarded him from Harry and Gabrielle's attacks.

Voldemort reappeared, no doubt summoned back by the press of a Dark Mark. He shouted in rage, and burst into the hallway with a flash of fire. He pushed through the Fiendfyre, marching towards Harry and Gabrielle. They ran down the hallway, Voldemort running behind them, casting curses at them. He sent a jet of fire down the hallway, which Harry and Gabrielle avoided by ducking into the Entrance Hall. Harry dashed through the broken entrance doors of Hogwarts, Gabrielle casting a slippery spell behind her to hamper the Dark Lord. Voldemort burst through the hall after them, and Harry and Gabrielle were knocked to the ground. Harry could see the ruins of Hogsmeade only a stone's throw away. All he had to do was get outside of Hogsmeade, past the cliffs of Hogwarts, and he could Apparate away.

A spell flew from the entrance hall towards Voldemort. The minister of magic had burst into the doorway, wildly casting spells at the Dark Lord. Voldemort deflected, and retaliated with his own. Aquino shouted, "Go!" and Harry and Gabrielle ran towards the cliffs on the other side of Hogsmeade. Aquino seemed to be proving to be a real challenge to the Dark Lord, who fought harder and harder. As Voldemort's defense fell, Aquino shot a Killing Curse into his chest. The darkness consuming Voldemort merely grew. He stepped towards the stunned Aquino, and gripped him around the throat with his corrupted hand. Aquino shouted something in a language Harry didn't recognize, and exploded in a flash of white light. Gabrielle turned and gasped. The Dark Lord was frozen in mid-air, gripping a solid white orb. Voldemort's darkness seemed to grow, and the white orbs slowly was absorbed into the Dark Lord. Voldemort fell to the ground, unmoving. Harry and Gabrielle ran towards the cliffs, and, as they reached them, a jet of smoke crossed the evening sky. Voldemort attacked with more ferocity than before, but it was too late. Harry and Gabrielle joined hands and jumped from the cliff marking the boundary of Hogsmeade, and Disapparated.

They appeared somewhere, with a sharp crack. There was total darkness. Harry cast Lumos, illuminating his surroundings. They turned, and saw Stonehenge. Gabrielle gasped. "Why would we appear here? I tried to go to Beauxbatons and –"

Stonehenge glowed, the rocks illuminating the dense meadow. A light enveloped them, and the sky disappeared, and everything outside of the circle of stones dissolved. It was as if their surroundings had changed instantly, for, out of nowhere, Merlin and Aelfgar appeared, and the Henge lit up. Merlin said, "Hello, Mr. Potter." Harry nodded, and Merlin continued. "You must resurrect me."

"How did you know we'd come?"

"I felt the disturbance through the ley line connection here. A darkness grows stronger by the hour.."

"But there is no magic that can reverse death," Gabrielle interjected.

"There is a magic for everything." Merlin said. "Start with Lao Tzu. The darkness clouds your time," he said, as everything began to flicker, as if they had a bad connection. "Go."

The darkness enveloped the circle, and all light was gone.

A/N Thanks for the reviews. Everything counts for me.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N Thanks for the reviews. Everything counts for me.

Well, I got my computer back. Something about the hard drive corrupting, blah blah blah.

Then school started. Yeah. I'll keep the updates coming, sorry about the four week break.

Chapter 13

Stonehenge

The light faded from the circle, and Gabrielle and Harry stood in the now-silent henge. The setting sun was beautiful as it kissed the horizon, sending streaks of red into the sky. Harry's scar pulsed, and he slumped against the Altar Stone.

He saw Voldemort, in the Great Hall, sitting in the headmaster's chair. The death eaters had bound all of the hostages with rope, immobilizing them all. Voldemort's darkness was consuming him, and the air around him seemed to pulsate with that very darkness. Even the Death Eaters were becoming unsettled.

"Harry?" Gabrielle asked, jolting Harry from the vision.

"I think I know what Merlin felt. Voldemort's darkness is consuming him."

"What happens when it consumes him?"

"I'd guess that he becomes an unstoppable force of darkness."

"What's Lao Tzu?" Harry asked.

"A philosopher. He also was one of the first wizards. He was skilled in the art of wandless magic."

The wind whistled along the English plains, bringing the cold with it.

Harry and Gabrielle were unsure of what to do. They were alone, with only one wand. Voldemort was beginning to control the entire world, and had effectively immobilized all of the powerful nations by taking their leaders.

Gabrielle said, "They snapped our wands. It feels empty in my pocket, not having it. And now, there's nowhere to get one."

"I'm sure not everyone comes to Ollivander's," Harry remarked. Gabrielle pressed herself into Harry's chest, nestling against him in the chill wind. The silence of the plains was unsettling, chilling them to the bones much more than the wind.

"Let's go," she said.

"Where?"

"I don't know."

They Apparated away, the familiar snap whisking them across space.

They landed on a Muggle street, paved with cobblestones. Harry looked in front of them, and saw the familiar outline of the Eiffel Tower. They heard police sirens and gunshots in the distance, echoing through the city. The square itself was empty, a remnant, it seemed, of the city. Gabrielle walked him to an antiquated phonebooth across the street. They both stepped in, the small space barely fitting the two of them. There was no phone in the booth, but Gabrielle said, "C'est magie."

Recognizing the password, the phonebooth slowly descended into the Parisian pavement, silently and smoothly. Harry and Gabrielle were pushed up close against each other, and Harry could smell her perfume, still present despite having been held prisoner for a few hours. Harry hugged her tightly, and she reciprocated. As they embraced, the phonebooth suddenly went dark.

Harry pulled out his wand, saying, "Lumos." The phonebooth was lit by a bright light, coming from the end of Harry's wand. Nothing but the walls of the elevator shaft could be seen through the glass panes of the phonebooth windows. It felt as if they were still moving, and Harry felt uneasy.

The phonebooth came to a sudden halt, and the door opened silently. Harry looked into an atrium similar to the Ministry of Magic, except barely lit, and completely deserted. The floo fireplaces were dark, and the fountain near the center of the atrium wasn't running. Wand held in front of him, Harry advanced towards the fountain, when his foot caught on something. He backed away from a woman's corpse.

"Lumos Maxima," Harry whispered.

A bright light lit up the room, and Gabrielle gasped. The floor was littered with corpses, some in Death Eater garb, most in working clothes. "Homenum Revelio," she whispered, and Harry felt as if something had soared over his head. Gabrielle shook her head, "Nothing."

The silence was deafening. The room was lit by a blaze of green. Simultaneously, all the Floo fireplaces behind them lit up, casting a sickly hue of green across the room. People in dark cloaks poured from the fireplace, wands aglow. There were shouts of, "Ne bouge pas!" and Gabrielle grabbed Harry's arm, saying, "Don't move." "Déposez vos armes!" came the next command. "Dro—" Gabrielle started, interrupted by, "Ne parlent pas!" "Don't speak," she thought to him. "And also, drop your wand." Harry dropped his wand. The men approached, wands out. "Vous identifier!" the man said. Gabrielle said, "Je suis la fille de Monsieur Delacour, Gabrielle." The man motioned to an older man behind him, and whispered something in French. The older man passed his wand over Gabrielle, and said, "Oui." "He checked to make sure I was actually my dad's daughter," she thought to him. The men turned to Harry, recognizing him. The older man passed his wand over Harry, and Harry could feel the wand looking into him. The older man said, "Oui." He retreated into the crowd, who had lowered their wands but still looked wary. A group of men returned from the elevators in the atrium, shaking their heads, and the tension lessened. "Is the place empty?" Harry asked. The older man, who seemed to be the leader, said, "Yes." He turned to Gabrielle, and asked, "What are you doing here, madame? Where is your father?" Gabrielle looked at the man, sorrow in her eyes. "I need to speak with the French leaders." "Of course, madame. May I inquire as to what about?" "My father." The man nodded, and he turned around, sending a glowing elk bounding off into a Floo fireplace, where it flashed green. "If you come with us," he said, "We can take you to them." "No thanks, monsieur," Gabrielle said. "I'm quite capable of getting to the Tower myself. It's only right there." "You don't understand. The Muggles are fleeing the devastation along the River. It's total chaos on the streets." "I guess we have no choice." The man signaled to the other men, and they cast spells on themselves, causing them to appear to be Muggle riot police. Their wands became guns, and they took a position by the fireplaces. The man walked over to the wall behind one of the fireplaces, and inspected it. "The ministry was attacked so suddenly and savagely, they didn't even have time to open the emergency exit." He tapped the wall with his wand, causing it to vanish. A tube station laid on the other side, with Muggles anxiously cramming themselves through the turnstiles to get away from Paris. He beckoned to the men, who assumed a formation around Harry and Gabrielle. They entered the station, and the Muggles parted to let the group through. They pushed up the stairs, to reveal a chaotic scene. In the mere minutes that Harry and Gabrielle had been in the tunnels, the street had been overtaken by Muggles fleeing the explosions and gunfire. Harry asked the man as they pushed through, "How are the Muggles dealing with the Death Eaters." "Suprisingly well, as a matter of fact. Muggle guns have improved considerably since I've last worked with them. Many Death Eaters were killed, but then they figured out a mobile Protego that stopped bullets. Then more Muggles fell." Jets of black smoke shot into the crowds, Death Eaters materializing, sending Killing Curses into the crowd. The wizards in formation around Harry, Gabrielle, and the captain held fire, rushing through the crowds to the Eiffel Tower. The group reached the elevator, the wizards taking positions around the elevator entrance. The man led Harry and Gabrielle to the elevator, opening the doors with his wand. When the doors closed, he pressed his wand into the firefighter's keyhole on the elevator floor button panel. The elevator began going upwards, gradually increasing in speed. It reached the top, and slowed. The ordinarily open viewing platform was not what greeted them as the doors opened with a soft ding. A giant iron door, seamless and shiny, stood in front of them. The man tapped the door with his wand. He said, "Walk through it." Harry walked through it, and a peculiar feeling passed over him, leaving a tingling similar to the waterfall at Gringotts. A full table in a well-kept room greeted him. The room awakened as Gabrielle came into view. A younger man at a table jumped up. "Mademoiselle! Où est ton père?" Gabrielle said, in English, "There is a lot to talk about." The man said, in English, "Monsieur Potter. We heard of your presentation to the IMF shortly before the convention center was attacked. We are considering aid. Have you seen Monsieur Delacour?" Harry shook his head. Gabrielle continued, "He's been captured." 


	14. Chapter 14

A/N Wow. This chapter really had difficulty flowing out. Like, it was harder to write.

The room fell silent.

"Mademoiselle, I hope you're joking."

Gabrielle shook her head. "The International Ministry was attacked after the first meeting. We all Portkeyed out, but the Chinese minister who prepared the Portkey was a traitor."

"Damn," said one of the older men at the table. "Chang looked suspicious at all the meetings."

One of the men at the far end of the table, a man bearing a myriad of scars on his face, commented, "But our informant network hadn't revealed anything."

Harry answered, "I don't think even the Death Eaters knew about the attack. They seemed unsure."

"So you're saying," continued the man, "that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has the forces to overwhelm one of the most secure locations on the planet without even a plan?"

"Yes, Jean," said the man closer to Harry. "I'm not sure if, as intelligence minister, you're familiar at all with war. You see, it wouldn't take much to overwhelm that island. Remote, sure. Relatively unknown? Sure. But tactically secure? Never."

He turned to Gabrielle, saying, "This is most unfortunate. The Death Eaters are attacking Paris. However, our protection charms preventing them from disabling Apparating and Disapparating are still in full effect, I believe."

A wash of cold passed over Harry, and through the mental bond Gabrielle shivered. All the men in the table seemed to do the same.

As if on cue, a guard rushed from the elevator, and said, "Les mangemorts son ici."

The men at the table got up, and stood. Before Harry could ask what was happening, the ministers cursed and drew their wands.

Gabrielle backed up behind him, and one of the men shouted, "They've blocked apparition. Guard, unblock that fireplace."

One of the men at the table stepped forward, chanting the Protego Maxima: "Protego Maxima, Fianto Duri, Repello Inimcum."

The guards were sealed outside of the glowing shield. Bursts of light flew from the wands in the room, Harry adding his own light to the shield forming over the hallway leading to the elevator.

The shield itself pulsated with a bright energy, made from the interweaving spells of the people in the room. As the spells tailed off, the elevator burst open. A guard ushered the cabinet members into the fireplace, then Harry, and Gabrielle.

As Harry stepped into the fireplace, he turned and saw the guards falling to bursts of green, the Protego shielding the fireplace as the guards fell.

Beauxbatons

The fireplace in the headmistress' office was dull, and crackling with the heat of logs long past embers. It burst alive, startling Maxime, who had been absentmindedly staring through the broad windows and into the alpine valley that lay in the view of the foggy panes. It turned a sharp green, and she drew her wand, backing away from the hearth.

The older man from the cabinet meeting, the man they called Jean, was the first through the fireplace. He strode confidently, without faltering, through the hearth and onto the carpet, his fellow cabinet members closely in tow, with Harry and Gabrielle tailing. The room erupted in a blast of French, with Harry and Gabrielle standing at a distance.

Some amount of time passed, the Madame having conjured chairs for everyone, as well as called elves to ready quarters for the cabinet members, Harry, and Gabrielle. After some talk, the conversation shifted to Harry and Gabrielle. Many of the older men assembled began glancing at them, as if expecting them to hear. The two had been drifting to sleep, doubtlessly drained by the events of the day.

"How are you two holding up?" The headmistress asked.

Gabby replied in French, translating for Harry as she went, "We are fine, but tired. We must tell the cabinet about something, however. It's very important."

The headmistress nodded. "Gentlemen," she turned, Gabrielle translating the French for Harry, "The Boy who Lived has some urgent news to share."

Harry stood in front of the cabinet, and related his adventure during his death, Gabrielle occasionally translating into French for the people assembled. Harry covered his resurrection at the hands of the veil, and he covered his meeting of the great Merlin himself. English wasn't some of their strong suits, it seemed, as Gabrielle's translations became more frequent as his story progressed.

As he continued, their faces became confused, some doubtful, some blank.

One man, in the back, who was dressed in simple clothing, woven from sackcloth, it appeared, stood up.

"This veil," he asked, "this veil that you say you helped create, did it have any markings?"

"A single rune, on the keystone."

"Which rune?" He cast a spell. "Any of these?"

A variety of runes was shown to Harry in a light blue outline.

"No."

The light shifted to one last symbol. The very same rune he had cast his spell into floated before him, the

"Yes."

The hologram dissipated, leaving a faint glow in the air behind.

"You surely must recognize this to be the very same veil as the one your own government holds?"

Harry did remember very clearly the veil Sirius fell through, and he nodded.

"The truth is," continued the sackcloth man in perfect English, "that isn't a one-way door."

He stepped towards Harry, the blue light of the hologram flickering out of existence, to be replaced by a dull hum in the air around the two of them.

"It's a bridge between life and death."

The room grew quiet.

One of the older men at the table exclaimed in French - translated by Gabrielle, "You don't mean to tell us that the Dark Lord has opened the gateway - the last time it was opened, you know what happened."

"Listen," Harry said, as the veela translated, "I had a vision while Apparating from Hogsmeade."

"Merlin said he must be brought back."

The sackcloth man nodded. "So we have feared. The darkness lives again," he said.

The older men bowed their heads. Some were afraid. Some were stoic.

The man continued, "We must prepare. The gates cannot fall."

He made his way through the exhausted cabinet members, to the fireplace in the office. The fireplace flashed green, then he was gone. The house-elves came in shortly after, to inform the headmistress that the rooms had been prepared for the guests, and that they could lead them to their quarters whenever they were ready. Many of the members of the cabinet had dozed off already, but many trudged out of the room.

Harry and Gabrielle made their way to the room Harry had taken residence in previously, which was prepared for him. Strangely enough, the elves had known to supply him with a larger bed, for both him and Gabby.

The soft mattress welcomed their tired weight, and the snowy slopes from his window were blown by the night wind.

Morning came too quickly, with their passage to the dining hall slowed by Gabby's friends, who nervously chattered in French. The cabinet had their own table in the hall, and Harry followed Gabby to sit with her friends. Soon enough, the Headmistress came over with an elf.

"You must leave soon. The most haste must be taken on your journey to resurrect Merlin."

"We can Apparate later today," said Harry.

"No," replied the giantess, "the Death Eaters have cut off Apparition to and from the entire country. France is under a magical siege - but physically the charms are not yet in place. You must hurry, Potter. You and Gabrielle should travel together. It seems fitting that the bond-mates should. The cabinet members, I'm afraid, are too weak to make the physical journey - the downfalls of a sedentary lifestyle, it seems."

She produced a map of the Pyrenees, on which she indicated their location. "You must journey to the southeast," she said, pointing at a marked trail from the edge of the school grounds, "to cross the border into Spain. You will need a French passport, should you be stopped by Muggle police, and you will need travel supplies. I trust you both know the Warming charms?

They nodded. Warming had been taught early in both their school careers.

"You will leave at once. The girls here are preparing for evacuation - their families are leaving and it is only a matter of time before the Death Eaters arrive here. We must all flee the darkness, until the light is returned."

Harry thought to himself briefly. He was tasked with bringing the light back to the magical world, by finding a thousand-year-old wizard's body and resurrecting him. He looked up at the headmistress and nodded. Gabby squeezed his hand tight.

After lunch, they set out in full snow gear, the sun gleaming on the packed snow.

A/N whoops


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

A/N I recently picked this fic back up again after an almost two year hiatus. I'm probably better at writing now than I was. Review at your leisure.

Somewhere in the Pyrenees, sometime in the late afternoon.

The Spainward slopes of the Pyrenees Mountains were particularly chilly that first winter day. Although the clouds threatened to encroach upon the sunlight's explorations of the icy slopes, the mountain travelers stayed steady-on through the near waist-high snow. They had been provided with a tent similar to the one Harry had stayed in at the Quidditch World Cup except, well, French. Harry found that he himself was partial to the English-style accommodation Hermione had packed for their stay in the forest while Horcrux-hunting, but his companion's company made the ordeal worthwhile.

The tent itself, charmed to outwardly appear tent-like, was embroidered with the Beauxbatons crest. "These tents," she explained, "are often taken out by students who go on camping trips." The inside featured an elegantly modern design with plenty of living space, a fully functioning kitchenette, and a modular bedroom. The best part, in Harry's opinion, was the kitchen. By "fully-functioning," the The French, it seemed, had a much more exotic cuisine that Harry wasn't nearly as much of a fan of.

One afternoon, as they had just set up their tent to take a rest, a Patronus came bounding across the snow-covered slopes to them. It was a bloodhound - like Fang, Hagrid's dog. "Madame Maxime!" exclaimed Gabrielle.

"Good afternoon you two," said the hound. "I was recently informed by an owl and two more Patronuses from the French officials here that the Death Eaters are moving towards Spain - and though Apparition isn't blocked, they can Splinch you or even Apparate to where you go should you decide to."

"What should we do?" asked Gabrielle."How can we leave the country without Apparating?"

"Act like Muggles, take the passports and find your way to Barcelona. The elves might've included a shrunken Muggle car in one of your bags, do you have it?"

Harry found the small sedan, just about the same size as one of Dudley's toy cars.

"Excellent. Send off a Patronus to me when you're in Barcelona - I'll need to know you're safe."

"Where do we even start?" asked Harry. "Where can we find his body?"

"He's supposedly buried in France - but an archeological group of wizards from the French Ministry excavated his burial mound and found, well, nothing. It didn't even have anything in it, just a pile of dirt."

The dog seemed to cock his head, as if thinking, then Maxime's voice continued, "Though, I think, the monks of Thailand could have a good idea as to where it might be."

"Thailand?" Harry asked.

"Thailand," affirmed Maxime. "The monks there have been practicing wizardry almost as long as the magical ancestors here in Europe. I don't have time for a history lesson, but it might be worth asking them about the history of magic." (A/N: Yes! I will incorporate this into other chapters! Worry not!)

The hound seemed to be losing its definition; it appeared to be shedding. "The wards are coming up around France," said Maxime. "I doubt I'll have connection for much longer. My last advice to you two, until we meet again, would be to avoid Apparating at all costs." They nodded.

"And," continued the headmistress as the dog seemed to be disintegrating, "try not to scare the Muggles too bad, should you have to use your wands."

Abruptly, the Patronus flickered, the light leaving the French decor of the tent as quickly as it had come.

The travel through the Pyrenees was fairly steady, although another rogue snowstorm did snow them in for a couple days. They passed the time by nestling in each other's arms by the pointedly French fireplace, watching the white whirlwinds build up around them through the windows. The remainder of their journey into the Spanish foothills wasn't worthy of much note; the white snow drifts turned green and grassy - giving way to the hilly terrain of Huesca province in Spain. Night was approaching, the cloudy sky streaked red by a setting sun on the horizon.

The two of them passed through a small town for some time, until Gabrielle grabbed his arm. The night air was crisp, crisp as the night Harry had Apparated to Tottenham Court Road, in London, the night of the Battle of Hogwarts. Now, he reasoned, it was far better with his bondmate strolling alongside him.

The Spanish rurality was not unlike Hogsmeade; although the shops were quiet at this time of night. The two passed quietly along what seemed to be the central road of the village - until she saw a filling station. The filling station was empty except for the cashier, who was facing away from the outer window. Harry and Gabrielle hurried to the back of the filling station.

From his bag, Harry produced the car, setting it on the ground. He tapped it with his wand, and it promptly began to grow. The two of them got into the Camry. "I learned to drive," said Gabrielle. "My father would take me out to the Muggle streets for holiday - though I might need an extrasensory charm here or there. A wave or two of her wand produced said charms, and they pulled out of the station.

A/N I know this is a shorter one! I'll have a lot coming soon. Review!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

A/N: Traveling is going to be a blast. Let me know what all you readers think by reviewing!

Carretera A-2, heading to Barcelona

The Spanish highway breezed past them. The dark night seemed to make the world close in on them, as the darkness was only pierced by a pair of headlights streaking past, largely indifferent to their quest.

"Did the Muggles know?" Harry wondered. He looked out the window as Gabrielle turned the radio on. "Get some sleep," she said.

He wondered if the Muggles knew that England was under siege, that France was being invaded, and that the separation of the magical and non-magical world was at an end. Barcelona is a port city, on the southern coast of Spain. Since the Death Eaters had doubtlessly already established themselves at all the other northern ports, Barcelona would be one of the last places they took, aside from the land borders in the East.

He wondered if, in those pitch-black skies, shadows were flying overhead, the Death Eaters on their way to seal off Europe completely. He closed his eyes and sank into his personal darkness, a dreamless sleep punctuated by the occasional bump in the Carretera A-2.

Near Barcelona

When he awoke, the sky was beginning to lighten. The sun had begun to cajole the eastern sky into life, splattering the horizon with red and pink. Harry looked around, and caught sight of a sign announcing Barcelona as 10 kilometers out.

Gabrielle said good morning to him through their bond, a silent yet touching hello to start the morning off. They drove through the city without any trouble, as only moderate traffic slowed them down. Arriving at the airport, they parked the car, got out, and a tap of the wand shrunk the car back to normal. They walked into the main entryway. Harry noticed a few men and women hurriedly walking towards one of the far walls of the entrance, and then noticed them walk into a large painting of the Barcelona skyline, disappearing into the Torre Agbar, Barcelona's landmark skyscraper.

He turned towards the mural, saying to Gabrielle, "The wizarding gate -" when she grabbed his arm and said, "We cannot. It will be watched."

Harry stopped, and she pulled him towards the Muggle ticket lines. They walked briskly across the atrium floor, glass-paneled ceiling skylights casting a gentle light on the white-grey floors. There were no lines at the counter, and Gabrielle greeted the ticket agent. Gabrielle did most of the talking as Harry watched the Muggles in the large, spacious room. He wondered if they knew what was happening just on the other side of the sea between Spain and England, if they knew what was about to happen. Harry produced his passport from his bag and handed it to Gabrielle, the agent scanning them in a machine on the other side of the counter. Gabrielle shook her head when he asked if they had any baggage they would like to check, and he entered some more information on the computer. He smiled, nodded, handed them their tickets, and with that prompted them towards the security lines.

They continued through security, then through the crowded airport, following their tickets' directions to Terminal 2A. Air Arabia Maroc, a Saudi air line, was supposed to connect them from Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to an Asian flight that would complete their travel to Thailand. 2A was a well-lit terminal, with floor-to-ceiling windows that cast natural light against the tiled floors. A plane with an Arabian inscription along the tail was taxiing to the terminal walkway - a stream of people passed into the terminal. The morning travelers in the terminal were quietly sitting, a yawn bounced around the room rapidly.

It occurred to Harry that he had never ridden in an airplane, though he had studied them in Muggle Studies. Gabrielle noticed this thought through their bond, her tired mental chuckle followed by her comment reminding him that she had ridden planes many times before. Her eyes were almost closed when an announcement in Spanish, English, then Arabian woke her: "Now boarding Flight 4508 to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Group 1, please have your ticket and passport ready."

Group 1 loaded first. After some time, Harry and Gabrielle shuffled towards the passport and ticket check with the second group. The cold air leaked into the ramp leading to the airplane, sending shivers down Harry's spine. They took their seats quickly, having no luggage to stow. Harry was still tired, even though he had slept in the car. They were seated on the right side of the plane, Harry giving Gabrielle the window seat. A The plane was warm, thanks to the climate control of the luxurious plane. "This part of the plane isn't by any means uncomfortable," Gabrielle noted, "even the section in front of us is good for a Muggle airline like this." The heated cabin, plush seats, and comforting company of his bondmate helped Harry's eyes close gently, the world in front of his tired eyes fading into his thoughts about the Dark Lord and his friends.

Some time later, he awoke to a loud hum. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up suddenly, looking around. His hand went to his wand in his pocket, tight against the fabric of his jeans. The Muggle next to him was asleep, apparently unstirred by the loud drone. Gabrielle reached out mentally to him. "We're getting ready to take off," she thought. "Those are the engines, silly."

He relaxed into his seat. "Sorry."

The plane was taxiing back onto the runway, turning so that the terminal was off to his right. Harry looked out the window to Gabrielle's right, contemplating the glass and chrome face of the airport, when a shadow flitted across his vision. A black streak flew into the large floor-to-ceiling windows of the airport terminals visible from the runway, smashing them. Several more black streaks flew into the glass ceilings in the atrium, visible diving at the panes against the midmorning sky. Some of the passengers noticed, and the plane was filled with a murmuring. At that moment, a particularly large fireball erupted from a spot on the tarmac towards the airport - a black shadow flew from the burning gas reserves, adding to the scene of chaos a fiery glow. The Death Eaters swarmed the building, doubtlessly slaughtering the Muggles and fighting the Spanish wizards. The pilot informed the passengers in English and Spanish that the plane would be taking off earlier than scheduled, due to an emergency, then another voice translated to Arabic the change in plans. The plane finished taxiing, and the hum of the engines grew louder.

Harry found himself gripped with a peculiar feeling - though he had flown on a broom, he had never flown in a plane. And there was just something - something about this Muggle tin can that just made him feel uneasy, not to mention the massacre they were about to fly away from.

He closed his eyes and squeezed Gabrielle's hand gently, just to remind her that he was there. Behind his closed eyes, his mind churned as the force of takeoff pressed on him, then subsided, leaving only the weight of his quest to save the world on his shoulders.

A/N Review or something! Feedback makes me happy


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